Sporting Endeavours
by Wozza-64
Summary: The school is having a sports day and the chipmunks and chipettes are encouraged to compete. Alvin has a run in with Ryan, leading up to them agreeing to compete against each other for bragging rights. Alvin and Brittany fall out before the competition.
1. The Jocks

**Just to make things clear; The story is based on the Chipmunk movies, (2007 + 2009). Set in the time line, a few months after the squeakquel ends. For anyone who is not to familiar with the second movie: Ryan is a jock and has a gang who hangs around with him, one of whom is called Xander, he is always correcting Ryan to his displeasure. They gained a certian dislike towards the chipmunks, but befriended Alvin to use him for the (American) Football team.**

* * *

It was a warm Monday morning in June. Monday, that meant a school day. The six chipmunks waved goodbye to Dave as he dropped them off at West Eastman, on his way to work.

They all walked into the school, cheerful and spritely, all except Alvin. He was several steps behind trundling along half asleep.

"Eight a.m. is still too early," Alvin murmured to himself, looking around for something that wasn't as boring as school. "Great, another boring school day, with boring lessons, all ending with boring math class." Alvin said out loud as he caught up with the others, who had reached their lockers.

Brittany turned to Alvin, "It can't be that boring, 'cause we're together in math class." She said making a good point. "Or am I too boring for you?"

Simon and Jeanette turned and looked in Alvin and Brittany's direction. "There they go again." Simon said, sighing at the sight of the two arguing.

"They aren't really morning people are they?" Jeanette added, before looking across at Theodore and Eleanor. They hadn't noticed the argument, and were talking about cooking and getting their books from the lockers.

By now both Alvin and Brittany had fully woken up and were in the midst of a fight. When Alvin stopped and looked over Brittany's shoulder, something caught his eye. He brushed passed her and hopped up onto a table for a better vantage point.

"Don't walk away from me Alvin." Brittany said in annoyance, turning towards his direction. She looked up to see what Alvin was checking out, as did the others. He was looking at some sort of poster; he turned and faced the others with an excited look on his face. Alvin grabbed one of the posters, which had fallen off the wall and onto the table, and jumped down to the others with it.

"What are you so excited about?" Brittany asked in an uncaring manner, before glancing at the poster he was holding.

The others took a look at the poster as well; Simon and Jeanette's faces said it all, they were not looking forward to it.

"Sports Day!" Alvin exclaimed in delight, "Finally something exciting in this place."

"Yeah, real exciting." Brittany replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Just because you're no good at sports." Alvin teased, looking to start a fight with Britt again. She just looked at Alvin uncaring, then looked at the others and rolled her eyes.

"I don't need to be good at sports," She defended, "Singing female chipmunk." She turned and walked off to her first class, slightly offended.

"Alvin, don't you think you're being a bit harsh on Britt." Simon said reasoning with him. "I'm just as reluctant to compete in this sports day as the others."

"Come on guys, it'll be fun." Alvin insisted, turning to the four of them.

"Only if you're good at sports." Theodore added nervously.

"Well, you all better get in some practise." Alvin teased, as he turned and walked off down the corridor.

"Don't worry, it won't be as bad as we think." Simon said, trying to put Jeanette and Eleanor's minds at ease

"Like Alvin said it might be fun...ish." Theodore added, trying to reassure the others, and himself.

They all split up in different directions to go to their first classes of the morning. The sports day still plaguing their minds, what would happen? What sports would they have to do? Would they be able to cope? With these thoughts circling around in their heads, it was hard to concentrate at the task in hand, even for Simon and Jeanette.

Later that morning, the guys had just finished second period, gym class. Alvin, Simon and Theodore were all in the same gym class, as were Ryan and his jocks. Alvin strolled out of the changing rooms after class and headed to his locker, with Ryan hunting him down. Only being eight inches tall, Alvin only made it half way down the corridor before being confronted by Ryan, with his jock friends backing him up.

"Hey guys, what's happenin'?" Alvin said nervously, as the group towered over him. He looked around for a distraction or maybe backup, but no luck.

"_You_ cost us that football game last week," Ryan accused, looking down on him with anger.

"Me?" Alvin interrupted in a puzzled tone.

"And _I'm_ getting left with the blame." He continued.

"Well, you did throw the ball." Alvin reminded, looking up at Ryan with a confident smirk. Ryan turned and looked at the others, for some support, before turning back to look at Alvin.

"Well he has a point." Xander commented from behind Ryan. This made him turn around and give Xander a funny look, as if to say 'why did you say that?'

Simon and Theodore emerged from the changing rooms, at the end of the corridor where Ryan was confronting Alvin. They looked tired and beaten-up, the looks on their faces suggested it had been dodge ball again. They walked very slowly down the corridor, not noticing Alvin's predicament, talking about the sports day, which is still at the centre of their thoughts.

Theodore looked across to Simon, "I hope the Sports Day will be better than gym class." Theo said in despair.

"Well it can't get much worse." Simon encouraged, looking across to Theodore. "It'll be fine Theo, we'll get through it together." This lifted Theodore's spirits and brought a small smile to his face. Simon smiled back, then looked up ahead to see Alvin in a confrontation with the jocks.

"Oh no. Not again." Simon said out loud, prompting Theodore to look in the same direction. The smile soon disappeared from his face as he saw the jocks crowding out Alvin.

"Come on Theo," Simon encouraged, "We better go help him."

"Okay." Theodore replied nervously, looking back at Simon hoping he would sort things out. Simon headed for Alvin and the Jocks, slowly, with Theodore following closely behind in his shadow. They were reluctant to get involved with the altercation, from thoughts of past experiences at the hands of Ryan and his gang.

As they approached the conflict Ryan looked up over Alvin and stared right at them. Simon froze in his tracks, met with flashbacks of Ryan giving him a swirly and then nearly drowning in a toilet. Theodore bumped into Simon, and snapped him out of his flashback, then Theodore too iced over at the intimidating sight of all the bullies towering over his brother.

To their relief, Ryan turned away from Alvin and signalled his friends to leave with him. Alvin looked over his shoulder to see what had distracted Ryan's attention from himself; he was surprised to see his brothers in step, a couple of feet behind him, which was quite a long way for him. Alvin had a thankful look on his face, as he approached his brothers, as he was actually glad to see his brothers for once.

"We'll continue this at lunch, fur ball." Ryan shouted at Alvin over his shoulder, as he walked away.

Simon and Theodore looked at Ryan walking away down the corridor, and then changed their focus to Alvin. With a nervous look on his face, Alvin shrugged at the probing looks he got from his brothers.

"Sooo, what's up boys?" Alvin asked, trying to cover up the events that just took place. Simon glared at him with an unbelieving expression on his face, Theodore just looked puzzled.

"What was all that about? Alvin?" Simon interrogated.

"It's nothing guys, don't worry about it." Alvin reassured, looking at Simon nervously and then glancing across at Theodore to see his reaction. He was looking back at Alvin knowing that an inevitable argument or fight would ensue, so he kept quiet and stared at the floor.

"It didn't look like nothing." Simon replied, hinting that there was something Alvin wasn't telling them.

"It's just the stupid jocks, that's all; you know how stupid jocks are? Anyway I gotta go, see you guys at lunch." Alvin rushed away as if in a hurry, avoiding any further questions from his brothers. He didn't want his brothers to get involved in case they get hurt, because it would all be his fault. Then Theo would get upset, Dave would get mad, and that's not good. His mind would be riddled with unwanted guilt.

"It's best not to get involved." Simon advised Theodore.

"But, what if Alvin's in trouble?" Theo asked with concern.

"He'll handle it himself, he always does." Simon replied, trying not to show what little confidence he had in his older sibling. Theodore had an uneasy look on his face. "Anyway, we were supposed to meet the girls." Simon reminded, "They're probably wondering where we are right about now."

"Oh yeah," Theodore replied, having temporarily forgotten. "Let's go Simon." They soon cheered up at the thought of hanging around with their counterparts.

With the girls...

"I wonder what's happened to them." Eleanor quizzed in a caring manner, looking around in all directions hoping to see them walk into view.

"Simon's never usually late for anything." Jeanette said with a concerned look on her face. As for Brittany, she couldn't care less, after the argument they had earlier, he wasn't exactly at the top of the list of people she wanted to talk to.

"It's probably Alvin's fault as usual." Brittany said with no doubt in her voice. Jeanette and Eleanor sighed in unison, looking around for the boys.

Just at that moment the bell rang, so they had to make their way to their next class. Simon and Theodore walked briskly round the corner and spotted the girls. The girls caught sight of them and rushed to meet up with them.

"Where have you guys been?" Jeanette asked, looking around to see Theodore but no Alvin.

"And where's Alvin?" Eleanor added.

"It's a long story, we'll have to tell you at lunch." Simon explained, "Right now we gotta' get to class."

"Alvin's been acting strange," Theodore added, before being dragged away by his brother.

"Come on Theo, you'll be late for class." Simon said ushering him away from the girls. "It's best to wait till lunch to tell them, Okay? Simon whispered.

"Okay Simon." Theodore replied slightly disappointed that they couldn't talk to the girls now.

The boys walked off down the corridor to their next classes, the girls were puzzled.

"What was all that about?" Eleanor said, scratching her head and looking at her sisters.

"It was Alvin, I told you." Brittany said confidently, her annoyance towards him rising with every minute that passed. They all split up and went to their classes.

"Do you think the boys are okay?" Jeanette asked Eleanor before entering her classroom.

"Don't worry Jen. We'll work it out at lunch." Eleanor reassured her sister, as she walked off down the corridor to her class.

Later at lunch, the six of them met up with their lunches and sat outside on a table together. They were all sat in an uneasy silence eating their lunch, Alvin was keeping his head down, it was easy to see. Simon broke the silence,

"About earlier," he started, "we're sorry we didn't show up." He looked across at the three chipettes, then at Theodore. "We ran into a spot of trouble."

"Trouble?" Eleanor asked in a worried tone of voice. "What kind of trouble? Are you guys okay?"

Simon had used the wrong choice of words and was now cursing himself in his head. "Not really trouble," he back tracked, looking at Alvin, who gave him a glare out of the corner of his eye. "More an issue that needed...addressing." Simon was now frantically searching his head for words that wouldn't sound too serious.

"Sooo, has this got anything to do with Alvin?" Brittany hinted, glancing across in his direction.

"Well..." Simon started.

"Alvin was being bullied." Theodore blurted out.

"Yeah, like that would ever happen." Brittany commented looking across at Alvin to check his reaction. He didn't really listen to what they were saying, this took Brittany by surprise, she usually gets into an argument with him at this point but he seemed preoccupied.

"He wasn't being bullied as such." Simon continued, "It was more of a heated discussion."

"What happened?" Brittany asked, now more concerned about how Alvin was acting.

"We came from gym class and the bullies were around Alvin." Theodore explained, referring to Ryan and his Jocks.

"But we approached them and broke it up." Simon said, trying to make it seem as incident free as possible.

"Wow, you two were brave to face up to them like that." Eleanor said looking across at Theodore. He smiled at her and felt all warm inside; Simon was more concerned about Alvin's well being, with a serious look on his face. Alvin was saying nothing and keeping his head down. There was an awkward silence. Brittany, with her eyes fixed on Alvin, noticed him occasionally glance over his shoulder at something before continuing with his lunch.

"Alright Alvin, what's up?" Brittany asked impatiently. "You've been acting weird all day, it's got something to do with those guys." she pointed in Ryan's direction. Ryan raised his eyebrows at the sight of Brittany pointing at him. "And I want to know what it is."

Alvin looked across at Brittany with an unwilling look in his eyes. He didn't want her to get involved because she'd make a big deal about it and take matters into her own hands.

"It's nothing," Alvin insisted addressing the five of them. "I don't want to get you involved." He had a serious look on his face, not a common expression the others were used to seeing on him. "It's my problem, I'll work it out."

"Come on Alvin, we can work it out together." Theodore said trying to encourage him.

"Maybe we can help you." Eleanor continued, agreeing with Theodore's sentiment. They smiled at each other and then looked back at Alvin.

"Perhaps getting it off your chest will make you feel better." Jeanette suggested. Alvin looked at them nervously; he knew they had a point.

"Oh," he said looking down at his lunch, "looks like I've finished, I'll take my tray back."

He had a very small tray, specially provided by the school, picked it up and made his way indoors to tidy it away. The others looked at each other puzzled.

"Alvin would never tidy anything up...unless he was trying to avoid talking to us." Simon said, stating that Alvin was being evasive towards them.

"Anyway, how were your days?" Simon asked the girls.

They all started chatting about classes and the events that were happening in the near future. But Brittany was still concerned about Alvin in the back of her mind.

She suddenly noticed Ryan following Alvin inside by himself; he had purpose in the way he marched from the table and into the building.

"May I be excused?" Brittany asked, not waiting for an answer from any of them, she grabbed her tray and hurried into the building. She wanted to find out what was going on with Alvin, and the only way to do that was to trail him.

Brittany entered the hall to find Alvin and Ryan face to face. Ryan had a menacing look on his face, as he towered over Alvin. She froze; she didn't know what to do, should she get involved against Alvin's wishes? She could always go back to the others and get help, but it might be too late to help. She stood watching, still as a statue, as her mind was clouded with indecision.

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**Finished the first chapter, Phew, not bad for a first attempt. I hope.**

**A bit dull, but it'll get going...soon. Please Review, cause evident improvement is needed.**

**Next chapter is already on its way.**


	2. Challenges

Ryan glared at Alvin, seething with rage. Brittany could only watch on as the scene in front of her unfolded.

"You better own up to losing us the game last week." Ryan stated bluntly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Alvin replied in an ignorant tone, really pushing Ryan's patience.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, fur ball." Ryan replied angrily.

**Flashback to last week's football game...**

The Eagles were down by four, in the fourth quarter, with 20 seconds on the clock. Ryan called a timeout; cue the substitution to bring on Alvin, their secret weapon. It was the fourth down, so they went with their signature play. The ball was snapped to Ryan, who is the quarter back; he waited just long enough to allow Alvin to climb onto the football. The ball was launched for the end zone, from the 30 yard line, the ball hovered for a while before landing a couple of yards too far. The ball was out of bounds and no gain was called, a turnover resulted, ultimately losing the match for the Eagles.

**Returning to the argument...**

"You moved when I threw that ball," Ryan accused, "and now everyone is blaming me for the missed touchdown."

"But..." Alvin tried to argue, but was interrupted by Ryan.

"So you better take the blame for _your_ mistake or you're off the football team." Ryan threatened.

Alvin looked stunned and also horrified; he didn't want to lose his place in the team.

"You can't do that." Alvin protested desperately.

"Hey, I'm the Quarter Back and the main player on the team for the last two seasons." Ryan ranted, "Don't you think I have more authority than you." Alvin didn't answer to that; he knew that Ryan was regarded as the star player of the team. "Take the blame, or you're off the team."

"B-But I didn't do it." Alvin answered back nervously. Ryan lost it, he picked up a tray and lined up to flatten him.

Brittany, watching on from a distance saw Ryan pick up the tray, her heart started beating rapidly, she gasped at the sight. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands, she expected to hear the sound of a tray being slammed, but instead heard a shout from someone.

"Stop right there!" The voice yelled. Brittany opened her eyes and peaked between her fingers, Dr Rubin was stood right behind Ryan. She glared at him, then looked at the tray and then at Alvin. "I didn't think that you would sink so low as to attack Alvin with a tray." Ryan immediately put the tray down, a safe distance away from Alvin. "Don't do anything like that again or you'll be in detention for a week." Dr Rubin stated firmly. Ryan nodded as a reply, rooted to the spot out of shock from being yelled at from point blank range. She smiled at Alvin before walking away across the hall patrolling the other pupils.

"Next time there won't be anyone to save you." Ryan said, looking viciously down at Alvin, before walking back outside to his jock friends. Seeing Ryan leave Brittany leapt off the table and joined Alvin on the tray counter, she looked at him, he was shaking.

"Are you okay Alvin?" she asked. Alvin looked across at her and smiled.

"S-Sure, I'm f-fine." He stuttered, still in shock from the events that had just taken place.

"You don't look so good." Brittany replied, seeing Alvin shaken up like this was a strange thing for her. The amazing Alvin Seville reduced to a shivering wreck by an angry jock was a first.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she said hugging him; this made him feel better and more secure. "I saw what happened, I was so frightened." Brittany grabbed his hand."Come on, let's go back to the others."

Back at the lunch table Simon and Theodore were becoming concerned about Alvin taking so long to return. As Jeanette and Eleanor were just as worried about Brittany being gone for quite a while.

"You don't suppose they ran into the jocks again?" Jeanette asked the boys. Simon looked across at the table of jocks.

"No, they're all sat over..." Simon stopped mid sentence noticing that Ryan was no longer in his seat, and may have been gone for some time.

"What's wrong Simon?" Theodore asked looking puzzled.

"All of them are there, except Ryan." Simon said suspecting he had followed Alvin. Just as they turned and looked across at the jocks table, Ryan emerged from the hall with an enraged look on his face.

"I hope Alvin's okay." Eleanor said worrying about the consequences.

"And I hope Britt isn't in trouble too." Jeanette added.

The four of them looked at each other with worry etched on their faces, before shifting their focus to the doors that Alvin and Brittany passed through several minutes ago.

Just inside, Alvin and Brittany were walking towards the exit together when Brittany stopped.

"Alvin, we have to get ourselves together." She explained. "We don't want to worry the others."

"Okay, I'll try." Alvin replied composing himself. They both emerged together from the doors, to the relief of the others; they tried to look as relaxed as possible as they approached the table.

"What took you so long?" Eleanor asked.

"We thought you might have run into trouble." Jeanette added, both of them concerned for Brittany's safety.

"You didn't run into Ryan again, did you?" Simon asked, probing Alvin for the answer and an explanation to what has been going on with him today. Theodore didn't say anything, he just looked at Alvin with a resigned look, he didn't like Alvin being in trouble, but he always was.

"Everything's fine now." Alvin said looking across at Brittany, "It's all sorted out." She smiled back at him.

"Alvin's solved the problem." Brittany confirmed to the others, "I saw while I was taking my tray."

The others bought this alibi for now, easing their minds on the matter, all except Simon who was still suspicious.

From what he had witnessed; Ryan was not in a very good mood, they were both in the food hall at the same time, and then Alvin comes out with Brittany acting cool, calm and collect. For Simon this didn't add up, he didn't want to drag the issue on so he kept his doubt and questions to himself for the time being. He just played along with the rest of the others, not interrogating them any further.

"It's good to know that you fixed that Jock problem." Simon said to Alvin. "I wouldn't want another run in with them." He added, thinking back to the previous bullying.

"Another?" Jeanette questioned Simon curiously. Just as he was going to tell the girls of their previous encounters, the school bell rang getting him off the hook for now, as he was reluctant to tell them the details.

"I'll tell you after school." Simon said, postponing the inevitable. The six of them split up and went to their next classes.

At last period Alvin and Brittany were in the same math class, and Ryan wasn't, to Alvin's relief. Brittany kept looking across in Alvin's direction, as Alvin kept looking across in the direction of the clock, she could see the obvious anxiety in the way he was behaving.

As soon as the final school bell went Alvin bolted from the classroom, leaving his books behind in a frantic dash, he took to all four paws and headed for the lockers, where the six of them meet up after school. If he could get away from school he could get away from Ryan, his logic was sound but turning the corner and seeing Ryan towering over him wasn't part of the plan. Alvin had the biggest fright of his life, running at top speed round the corner into the path of Ryan and his following jocks.

"Going somewhere?" Ryan asked, intimidating Alvin as much as possible. At this predicament Alvin started to back track slowly to get some distance between them. "Did you understand our little arrangement from earlier? Or do I have to make it clearer?" Ryan advanced on Alvin, cracking his knuckles as he walked.

Brittany walked slowly out of the math class, with her and Alvin's books in one pile, and headed down the corridor with little to no visibility because of the extra books.

"So fur ball, what's it gonna be?" Ryan asked as a final demand, as he readied to pounce. Brittany heard this and immediately new Alvin was in trouble, she dropped all the books to the floor and rushed to be at Alvin's side. Ryan looked up to see Brittany run up and stop alongside Alvin; he raised one of his eyebrows, causing a look of curiosity to appear on his face.

"Are you serious?" Ryan said, looking down at the pair of them. "You're getting your girl to fight for you?"

"Why don't you just leave Alvin alone?" Brittany said sternly, plucking up the courage to stand up to Ryan. "You jocks are always causing trouble, why don't you pick on someone you own size." Ryan looked at her with a dumbfounded look on his face before replying.

"'Cause it wouldn't be as easy." He said looking back at his gang of jocks, who laughed along with him.

"What have you got against Alvin?" Brittany continued, getting annoyed by Ryan's ignorance.

"He knows." Ryan replied looking down on Alvin. She turned to look at Alvin, who was stunned by the courage that she was displaying. He snapped out of the surprise and looked at Brittany with an honest look on his face.

"It wasn't my fault." Alvin said, "He was the one who threw the ball."

"Don't start that again." Ryan said snapping at Alvin. "We already went through this, either own up or you're dead."

"If Alvin doesn't think it's his fault, then he shouldn't take the blame." Brittany replied, arguing her point.

Ryan looked down on Brittany with disbelief.

"And who are you to be arguing with me. You have nothing to do with this. Or are you doing it for extra brownie points." Ryan teased. "Everyone knows that you only hang around with Alvin for the fame and fortune." This hurt Brittany, and he could tell as he continued to diminish her confidence. "He doesn't need you."

Alvin stepped in, fuming from all the insulting remarks aimed at Brittany; he looked Ryan in the eyes.

"You jocks think you're so cool, but if it isn't sports, you suck." Alvin said in a temper, "Why don't you back off, and leave us alone."

"That sounds like a challenge." Ryan said. "We could beat you at other things besides sports and you know it. To settle this little argument, I suggest we have a little competition." He continued, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Me and my friends against you and your rats." He looked down at Brittany after saying this, she was visibly upset, and he was thriving on the sight of it.

"Fine," Alvin agreed, "as long as you stop bullying us after."

"Whatever, we're gonna wipe the floor with you little rats." Ryan said, attempting to upset them further. They left down the corridor, leaving the two of them together. By now the corridors had emptied and there were very few people about.

Alvin turned to face Brittany; she had tears in the corners of her eyes, trying to shrug off the nasty comments inflicted by Ryan.

"Don't worry Britt, they don't know what they're talking about." Alvin comforted. A tear rolled down her cheek, Alvin gently wiped it away, and she looked up into his eyes attempting to forget about Ryan's harsh words. "You aren't hanging around with me for fame, I know that." he said, "I'm hanging around with you because you're the one I choose to be with." This made Brittany feel a million times better.

"Y-You mean it?" she asked, between sniffling.

"Of course I do." Alvin replied warmly. Brittany moved towards him and put her arms around him; she felt safe, secure and loved. Alvin wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, for that split second all worries went away and she felt like nothing in the world mattered. They broke off their embrace as they returned to reality.

"Oh, geez. We're sooo late." Alvin said, seeing the school clock behind Brittany. Alvin frantically grabbed all the books, and gave Brittany hers. "We better get movin'"

"Thanks Alvin." Brittany said as they walked to the lockers, she felt as though she meant a lot to Alvin because he stuck up for her.

"You're the one who stood up for me." Alvin replied, "I should be thanking you."

They moved on from their encounter with the jocks, the bond between them ever stronger, but now having to face up to their siblings and tell them what happened.


	3. Bully Business

**The story is now getting going, chapter with a few flashback moments but balanced out with intimate moments. ****Hope it lives up to expectations.**

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Simon, Jeanette, Theodore and Eleanor were all at the lockers where they meet up after school, they were in deep conversation about the sports day that was coming up. The displeasure of having to compete was almost unbearable for the four of them.

Alvin walked around the corner into the view of the others, they turned and looked at Alvin, and this was no surprise to them as Alvin was usually late for some reason. The strange thing was Brittany was late with him; their suspicions were reaffirmed at the sight of the two of them emerging from round the corner together, side by side. Simon immediately focused on Alvin knowing that it was his fault that the two of them were late to get to the lockers.

"Why are you late? Alvin?" He asked, urging for an answer.

"Why is it always me?" Alvin replied, becoming annoyed by the continuous questioning.

"Because it usually is." Simon replied. He had a point Alvin was always the one to be in the centre of an argument or in some sort of trouble.

"Did you run into bullies again?" Theodore asked caringly.

"We kinda did." Brittany answered, trying not to make too big a deal of what had happened.

"Both of you?" Eleanor asked, surprised to find out that Brittany was involved.

"Did you get Britt involved in this Alvin?" Simon asked curiously, thinking that Alvin had got her involved for his own protection.

"No, she just butted in." Alvin blurted out before he could think. Brittany gave him an unbelieving look, before turning to the others.

"I..." she began, defending herself but Alvin interrupted.

"But I'm glad she did." He looked across at her and held her hands. They stared into each others eyes, they leaned in to kiss.

"Ahem" Simon coughed, interrupting their romantic moment. He was stood with his arms folded, with Theodore and Eleanor stood behind, trying not to look. "Would you like to tell us what happened with the jocks?" He urged for an answer.

"No." Alvin replied in an obvious tone.

"Alvin," Brittany reasoned. "They need to know, after all they're involved."

"Involved?" Jeanette questioned with surprise but also shock in her voice. "How?"

Alvin looked at the others uneasy, and then looked across at Brittany, she smiled at him encouraging him to tell them.

"Well..." Alvin started, taking a deep breath. "I ran from math class to get out before Ryan, but he was already waiting."

"And I had to collect his books." Brittany added, continuing the story for him. "I left the classroom and headed for the lockers, and saw Alvin in trouble."

"Brittany came and joined the argument, stopping Ryan from attacking me." Alvin said gratefully.

"Then Ryan started teasing and insulting me," Brittany said with sadness in her voice. "Alvin stood up for me and stopped Ryan." She looked at Alvin appreciatively, for caring enough to face his fears for her. "The only thing is..."

"We kinda entered into a competition with the jocks." Alvin finished. The others stood there in silence; they didn't know what to ask first, they were speechless.

"Doesn't it feel better telling the truth?" Simon said.

"I'm just glad everyone's okay." Jeanette added.

"You two were brave standing up to those bullies." Theodore said, looking at the two of them with pride.

Simon noticed that they were running late as he looked at a clock down the hall.

"We better get going," Simon advised, "Dave will be wondering where we are."

They put all the books away in their lockers and headed out of the main entrance, where Dave was waiting in his car.

"What took you guys so long?" He asked. "Was someone in detention?" This was obviously aimed at Alvin.

"No Dave." They all replied.

"Good, glad to hear you're all doing alright at school." Dave replied with a smile on his face.

"Well almost all of us." Simon said quietly.

"What was that?" Dave asked curiously.

"Knock it off Simon." Alvin whispered, nudging him in the side.

"Are you trying to keep something from me?" Dave asked, attempting to shed some light on the whispering that was going on in the back of the car.

"No." Alvin replied innocently. Dave never believed him when he made out that everything was okay, because it never was. Dave was predictably suspicious, so they kept quiet for the rest of the journey until they got home.

Once they were in the comfort of their own home, they all went and sat on the sofa in the living room. Alvin and Brittany were the centre of attention after the events that had happened at school. Simon and Jeanette were sat to their left and Theodore and Eleanor to their right.

Dave came through the front door, after locking up his car, and walked through the living room where they were sat. He was keeping a close eye on Alvin, as he headed into the kitchen. Dave glanced over his shoulder wondering why they were all sat together on the sofa.

As soon as Dave was out of hearing range Simon asked Alvin about the last part of their earlier discussion.

"When you said _we've _entered into a competition, who were you implying?" Simon queried.

"What?" Alvin replied, partly because he couldn't understand the word Simon used, but also the fact that he didn't want to own up to his mistake.

"Alvin." Brittany said, "Don't play dumb." Alvin sighed and glanced across at her with an annoyed look on his face. "When we said _we_, we meant all six of us." She continued, preparing to face the brunt of the others criticism.

"What?" Theodore said in shock.

"All of us?" Eleanor asked in similar fashion to Theodore.

"I don't like where this is going." Simon said, "We have to compete against the jocks, who don't particularly like us."

"I know it seems like last time," Alvin explained, referring to when they first went to West Eastman and encountered the jocks. "But we know what they're like now."

"I don't want to go through that again." Theodore said, dropping his head in disappointment.

"You keep talking about 'before'." Brittany asked the three of them. "What do you mean?"

The chipmunks all looked at each other, Alvin was reluctant to tell the chipettes of the bullying problems, and Theodore was embarrassed to mention what happened.

"Fine I'll tell them." Simon said, taking control of the conversation. "When we first started school at West Eastman, we were approached by Ryan. Purely out of jealousy he threatened us for attracting all the girls' attention." Simon explained, as he looked across at Alvin. "Alvin comes up with a cheeky reply and we get chased around the school by the jocks."

"What happened?" Jeanette asked.

"Well...we all got split up." Simon explained, "And I got caught and...they nearly drowned me in a toilet."

"That's awful." Eleanor said caringly.

"Were you okay?" Jeanette asked.

"He was fine," Alvin interrupted. "I saved him. When running from the jocks, I cleverly distracted Ryan and Xander and then gave them both wedgies. Then I went back to find the others, I saved Simon and attacked the other jocks."

"Quit showing off Alvin, you were as scared as we were." Simon said making a good point.

"What about you Theo, were you okay?" Eleanor asked feeling sorry for him as he hung his head in shame.

"Well, when I got caught by the jocks, Theo and I got split up." Simon continued. "Alvin rescued me and we went to confront them. We found Theo being teased by Ryan and Xander saying he was...fat."

Simon turned to Theodore who looked up at him. "Sorry Theo."

"Then we attacked Ryan and Xander and saved Theo." Alvin said with pride.

"You three have been through a lot because of them." Eleanor said.

"We had no idea," Brittany said, shocked and astounded by the amount of bullying they had suffered at the hands of the jocks.

"No wonder you didn't want to tell us." Jeanette said with a degree of understanding. "There's a lot of history between you guys."

"And it looks like they still hold a grudge against Alvin." Brittany added.

"That's why this competition with the jocks is a bad idea." Simon said.

"But..." Alvin started.

"Don't drag us into this Alvin." Simon said becoming frustrated. "We'll talk about this at dinner."

Simon jumped off the sofa and walked away to the bedroom; Jeanette watched him walk away and decided to follow him. Theodore looked across at Alvin before getting up and going to help Dave in the kitchen, Eleanor followed.

Alvin just sighed and turned on the TV.

At dinner they all sat quietly eating their dinner, until Dave broke the silence.

"Does anyone wanna tell me what's going on?" He asked. "I know something's wrong, I can tell."

"Well," Simon said, plucking up the courage to tell Dave. "Alvin entered us into a competition."

"What kind of competition?" Dave asked curiously, wondering why they were acting so strange.

"We kinda got into an argument with the jocks and now we're in a series of challenges against them." Brittany explained.

"I don't want to play against the bullies." Theodore said nervously.

There were now glares from the others all directed at Alvin, even Dave was giving him a serious look.

"But I..." Alvin started.

"Alvin, what on earth were you thinking when you entered us into this...grudge match." Simon interrupted angrily.

"You didn't even ask us if we wanted to compete or not." Jeanette agreed.

"Didn't you two think that we might not want to be involved in this?" Eleanor added disappointed at the two of them.

Dave turned to Alvin looking at him seriously. The others looked at Dave wondering what his reaction would be to all this.

"Alvin, why did you volunteer everyone, when you and Brittany were the only ones who knew about it?" Dave asked, puzzled at the irresponsibility of the two of them.

"We're sorry Dave." Brittany said hanging her head in shame, visibly upset.

"It was my fault Dave, not Britt's." Alvin owned up. "I was the one who accepted the challenge."

Alvin's honesty caused a brief pause in the conversation, for Dave this was unexpected.

"Despite your honesty you have been very irresponsible Alvin." Dave said looking at him in despair. "Even though you guys are set against competing, you should at least here Alvin and Brittany out."

The others looked up at Dave, and realised that they were being a bit harsh on Alvin and Brittany.

"What kind of challenges are they?" Dave asked. There was a silence whilst everyone waited for an answer from either Alvin or Brittany. Simon broke the silence.

"Do you even know what kind of competition they have in mind?" He asked

"It's not going to involve any contact sports, is it?" Jeanette asked nervously.

"Listen," Dave said addressing the six of them. "We don't know what kind of challenges there will be yet. They could be things that you're good at." He added, putting a positive note on the situation attempting to cheer them up. Dave turned to Theodore, Eleanor and Jeanette and comforted them. "If you all work together, you can get through this as a team."

They were still not convinced about competing against the jocks, even after Dave's efforts to encourage and comfort them.

"If you all go through with this, I'll be here to support you all the way." Dave encouraged.

They all finished their dinner and went off doing their own things. Alvin and Brittany were still talking about the jock challenges, they were concerned that the others would refuse to compete and leave them to battle it out alone.

Alvin and Brittany went outside and sat on a bench together, the sun was setting making the sky seem a nice shade of pink.

"Alvin, I don't think that the others are going to help us." Brittany said. "They weren't very pleased to hear that they had been involved."

"Don't worry Britt; we can get through this together." He replied, putting his arm around her. "Besides I have a plan." Brittany looked across at him, puzzled as to what he could possibly do to help the situation. Alvin whispered his plan to Brittany; she looked at him confused by what he said.

"Why would that help?" Brittany asked.

"It will, trust me." He said smiling at her. They sat and watched the sunset, Brittany rested her head on Alvin's shoulder and Alvin rested his head against hers.

"Thanks for standing up for me Alvin." Brittany said, "I didn't think you cared so much."

"Well, I couldn't come home and tell Dave that you were attacked by a jock." Alvin replied, "That would be bad enough facing Dave." Brittany giggled at the thought of Alvin being yelled at by Dave in his trademark voice, AAALLVVIIIIN!. "Besides you saved me from being stomped on by Ryan." Alvin said gratefully. "Thanks for being so brave for me."

They cuddled up and watched the sunset together, hoping that Alvin's plan would work and that everything between them and the others would be back to normal.

* * *

**Reviews welcome, after all nobody's perfect.**


	4. Dr Rubin

**Alvin and Brittany need to dig themselves out of a hole and hopefully Alvin's plan is the key to winning back the others trust.**

* * *

It was getting late and the six of them were getting ready for bed, the chipettes and the chipmunks have bunk beds in the same room and so have to take it in turns to get changed in the bathroom. The Chipettes went into the bathroom first to get changed.

Simon and Theodore kept quiet and didn't even look at Alvin, this annoyed him.

"Come on guys," Alvin said, "don't be like this. I know I did wrong, but I'll make up for it I promise." Simon looked at Alvin disbelieving before carrying on preparing his bed, Theodore looked up but couldn't talk to him because he was disappointed and didn't want to start an argument. Alvin picked up on this response and dropped his head out of desperation.

The Chipettes emerged from the bathroom and walked over to the beds, the boys went into the bathroom to get changed. Brittany looked at her sisters and smiled.

"Don't worry girls; we'll sort this all out." Brittany said.

"What happened Britt, why did we all get dragged into this?" Eleanor said, unhappy at the day's events.

"We thought you were smarter than this." Jeanette said.

"I know, I'm sorry, but Alvin will get us out of this," Brittany pleaded, "I promise."

Jeanette and Eleanor looked at each other and sighed, she relied too much on Alvin, and he never pulled his own weight. The boys emerged from the bathroom and climbed into their beds, as did the girls. Dave came into the room.

"Are you all ready for bed?" He asked looking around the room.

"Yes," They all replied in turn.

"Tomorrow's another day." Dave said trying to cheer them up. "Good night."

They all said goodnight to Dave before saying goodnight to their counterparts. Dave closed the door leaving a little gap for light to get through; they all drifted off to sleep thinking about the mess they had gotten into.

During the night Theodore bolted up right in bed, he was scared and panting heavily. He had a nightmare, the panting and movement of Theodore disturbed Eleanor, she looked across and saw Theodore sat in bed looking upset.

"Theo?" Eleanor asked, "Are you okay?" Theodore immediately turned his head in her direction, he didn't know she was awake and was still a little shaky.

"I-I had a nightmare." He replied hanging his head, embarrassed about his cowardice. Eleanor saw he was upset and jumped off her bed, walked across the room and jumped up onto his bed.

"Don't worry Theo, it was only a nightmare." Eleanor comforted, she sat beside him and smiled. "What happened?"

"It was about the jocks," Theo started nervously, "and I nearly got stomped on."

"That's awful." She said looking at him to see if he had calmed down. "That couldn't happen, you're brothers wouldn't let it." Theo smiled at this, he looked at Eleanor and smiled again.

"You don't need to worry, we're all one big family and we all look out for each." Eleanor comforted. Theodore was still shaking; he lay down on his bed and stared up. Eleanor lay down and snuggled up beside him to keep warm.

"Thanks Elle." Theodore said, glad that he had a close friend that he could trust and rely on. They drifted off to sleep together, happy that their friendship was still strong.

The next morning, Simon and Jeanette woke up nice and early, they began climbing down from their bunk beds to go for some breakfast.

"Where's Eleanor?" Jeanette asked seeing that her bed was empty.

"Found her." Simon said, looking at Theodore's bed as he continued to climb down.

"That's so cute." Jeanette said, looking at the two of them lying back to back in the middle of the bed.

"Maybe Dave's right," Simon suggested, "We need to work as a team to get through this."

The six of them were dropped off at school, at the usual time, by Dave. They walked into the hallways to find that the rumour of the competition between the chipmunks and the jocks had spread. They got to the lockers and started to get their books and equipment as usual, ready for their first classes.

"Let's go." Alvin whispered to Brittany, they dashed off down the hall and out of sight. The others turned around to find that Alvin and Brittany were not there, they were puzzled by this, where did they go?

"Come in," Dr Rubin said, as Alvin and Brittany knocked on her office door. The door was open slightly, so they walked in through the gap and hopped up onto the edge of her desk. "I was expecting you." Dr Rubin said looking at Alvin.

"Really?" Alvin asked, "Why?"

"From what I've heard, there is going to be a contest between you and a group of our sports students." Dr Rubin explained, summing up the rumours that were being spread around the school.

"That's what we came to talk to you about." Brittany said nervously, as she'd never talked to the principal before. Alvin on the other hand, had met Dr Rubin several times and knew she was a secret chipmunks fan, and he was going to take advantage of this.

"Well, in light of the up and coming sports day," Dr Rubin explained, "I propose that the contest be made into an official and organised event."

"I don't know, that sounds pretty serious to me." Alvin said, knowing Dr Rubin wanted him to agree.

"Is there some incentives that would persuade you to accept my terms." She enquired.

"Why do you want to help us?" Brittany asked curiously but at the same time politely.

"I have my reasons," Dr Rubin replied defensively.

"It's okay, you can tell Britt." Alvin said, "We're close friends." He added winking at Brittany, she giggled.

"You have to keep this a secret," Dr Rubin said, she pulled her sleeve up to reveal a tattoo of Alvin and the Chipmunks. "I'm a huge fan, I have all their CD's."

"About those incentives," Alvin hinted. "I was thinking that you could excuse us from the Sport Day to compete in this contest."

"That would be acceptable." Dr Rubin agreed.

"And, the contest will count towards our grades in gym class." He continued.

"I suppose that can be arranged," Dr Rubin said looking at Alvin with a stern expression on her face.

"If you're organising the contest," Alvin continued, "can you make it so that only a couple of events are sports."

"Yes, but only if you'll allow me to publicise this competition, to bolster the reputation of the school." Dr Rubin proposed.

"It's a deal." Alvin said, holding out his paw.

"I'm glad to hear it." Dr Rubin said, holding her hand out. Alvin shook her finger, the deal was done. But would Dave go through with all this, or would he just disagree with him and get angry.

"Oh, and our manager Dave Seville will have to be in charge of some of the publicity." Alvin added.

"I'll make sure he is part of the event." Dr Rubin confirmed as Alvin and Brittany walked out of her office. As soon as they were out of sight of her office they celebrated.

"I never thought I'd say this Alvin," Brittany said happily, "but that was genius."

"I amaze even myself." He agreed, milking the moment.

"Come on," Brittany said, grabbing his hand in excitement, "Let's go and tell the others." She ran pulling Alvin's hand, as they headed to the lockers.

At the lockers, Simon, Jeanette, Theodore and Eleanor were all wondering what had gotten into Alvin and Brittany this morning.

"News has spread fast," Simon said, "People are talking about our contest with the jocks all over school."

"I wonder why Alvin and Brittany ran off together." Eleanor said, puzzled at the earlier disappearance of their elder siblings.

"I hope they don't run into the bullies again," Theodore said fearing for their safety. Eleanor put her arm across Theodore's shoulders.

"It'll be okay, they're working together as a team." She comforted, Theodore smiled at her.

"I've been thinking about what Dave said last night," Simon said, "and I think we were too quick to judge what Alvin and Brittany did."

"It couldn't have been easy for them." Jeanette added, continuing Simon's sentiment.

"Maybe we should at least try to help them." Eleanor suggested. "It'll be okay, if we all stick together." Just at that moment, Alvin came around the corner being lead by a happy looking Brittany.

"Hi guys," she said cheerfully.

"What's gotten into you?" Jeanette asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Where have you been?" Eleanor asked curiously.

"Dr Rubin's office." Brittany replied with a smile on her face.

"You weren't in trouble were you?" Theodore asked

"No." Alvin replied, "It was...business."

"Was it about the little contest that is coming up?" Simon asked knowingly.

"Alvin got us a deal, with Dr Rubin organising the event." Brittany said, hugging Alvin, before turning back to the others.

"What exactly is this deal?" Simon asked curiously.

"Well...we don't have to do the Sports Day event, also the contest will count towards our final gym class grades." Alvin explained.

"At least we'll get something out of this." Simon commented, referring to the gym class grades.

"And Dr Rubin promised to include as little sport as she could." Brittany added. Theodore, Eleanor, Simon and Jeanette's faces all lit up at hearing this.

"The only downside is, the contest is going to be publicised, to help boost the school's rep." Alvin explained.

"But Dave is going to be in charge of all the publicity and paparazzi." Brittany said. At hearing that Dave was going to be involved, Theodore was happy again, he would have Dave to look out for him.

"That's great," Theodore said, "Dave can look after us."

"For once, Alvin, you've done something smart, and caring." Simon added, impressed at what Alvin had achieved by himself.

"How did you get Dr Rubin to agree?" Jeanette asked curiously.

"What can I say, I'm Alvin Seville." Alvin said, pulling up his sleeve and pointing at his arm. This was a reference to the tattoo that Dr Rubin had of the chipmunks, on her arm. The three chipmunks burst out laughing, Brittany joined in, getting the joke as she had seen the tattoo in Dr Rubin's office earlier. Alvin and Simon each put an arm around Theodore, who in turn put his arms around the two of them. Brittany joined them and hugged Alvin from the side, he put his other arm around her.

Jeanette and Eleanor were puzzled by the laughter and didn't get the joke, as they didn't know about the tattoo.

"What's so funny?" Eleanor asked out of curiosity. The bell rang and the laughter died down, they had to go to their first classes. Jeanette and Simon were together for science class, Theodore and Eleanor were together for cooking class, but Alvin and Brittany were in separate classes.

Simon told Jeanette about the joke as they walked away to science class. Theodore walked with Eleanor to cooking class, they were holding hands as they disappeared around the corner.

"Wow, those two sure are happy." Brittany said, referring to Theodore and Eleanor. "They were holding hands." Brittany grabbed her books from her locker and looked across at Alvin, he was deep in thought, she leaned across and kissed him on the cheek. Alvin immediately snapped out of it.

"Wow, what was that for?" he asked curiously.

"For being so thoughtful," Brittany explained. "You actually helped us all out of a problem, it's so unlike you."

"I'll have to do it more often." Alvin replied jokingly, as Brittany walked off down the hall to her first class. Alvin grabbed his stuff and hurried off to class because he was almost late.

The six of them met up at their break time, under the watchful eye of Ryan, who was watching their every move.

"So, are you four going to help me and Britt?" Alvin asked.

"After all you've gone through and all the trouble you went to, we must help." Simon answered.

"Yeah, it might be tough but we're a team." Jeanette agreed.

"I'll help." Theodore said proudly.

"Me too." Eleanor added straight after.

Great, thanks so much you guys." Brittany said almost overcome with emotion. "With Dr Rubin on our side we'll do great."

The rest of the school day was uneventful, back to the way it used to be, thanks to Alvin's genius plan.

* * *

**Bringing Dr Rubin into this was a long shot but I think it paid off, for the chipmunks and chipettes anyway. How will Dave react to the new revelations?**

**Reviews welcome.**


	5. Involving Dave

**Will Dave agree to help Dr Ruben and the school?**

* * *

The chipmunks and chipettes met up after school, left the building and got into Dave's car.

"Hi guys." Dave said as the six of them jumped into the car in turn.

"Hi Dave." They all replied, buckling up in the back seats.

"I got a phone call from the principal, about the competition we were talking about last night." Dave said, "Was it something to do with you, Alvin?"

"Alvin talked to Dr Rubin and made the competition a lot easier for all of us." Brittany answered, defending Alvin, he smiled across at her in appreciation.

"Wow," Dave said, "Alvin, being thoughtful?"

"Yep." Alvin replied proudly.

"Well, what was the phone call about?" Simon enquired.

"Oh, it was about me being involved in the publicity side of the competition." Dave answered.

"So, will you do it?" Alvin asked hopefully.

"I'll have to think about it," he answered. "After all I am preparing another concert for you in a couple of month's time. They all looked at each other, unsure what to think, did Dave think it was a bad idea?

"We'll talk about it at dinner." Dave said, unsure about his decision.

Later, at dinner, they all sat down at the table and stared at Dave, wondering what the answer would be. Dave looked up to see six pairs of eyes fixed on him.

"Look guys, I still haven't decided," Dave explained. "It doesn't seem like a very good idea to me."

"But..." Alvin protested, not knowing what to say. He looked across at Simon, hoping he would come up with something intelligent.

"It's for the good of the school." Simon reasoned.

"It might boost the popularity of the chipettes too." Alvin suggested, trying to persuade Dave by making it sound beneficial. The three chipettes looked and smiled at Alvin, he was still being thoughtful towards them.

"Well, if that was the case it would make my life a lot easier." Dave debated. "If I take part in this, then you all have to promise to do exactly as I say."

"Sure." Theodore answered enthusiastically. All six of them nodded their heads, agreeing with the terms Dave had laid down. Knowing that agreeing would be the only way to get Dave to go along with the competition.

"Seeing as it means so much to you." Dave decided, "I'll do it." This was the answer they were looking for, all six of them were visibly excited by this. They all finished off their dinners and left Dave to do the washing up.

After dinner everyone seemed a lot happier, Theodore and Eleanor were sat together on the sofa watching a cooking program. Alvin and Simon were playing a video game on the computer, while Brittany and Jeanette were in the bedroom. Jeanette was sat happily reading a book on her bed. Brittany was in front of a mirror combing and admiring her hair.

"Jeanette," Brittany said, "did you notice what's going on between Theo and Elle."

"Yeah," She acknowledged, "I think it's cute."

"How come they're so close all of a sudden?" Brittany asked, intrigued by the relationship between the two of them.

"I think it's because they stood by each other through the last couple of days." Jeanette explained. "They were there for each other, whenever they were upset."

"It's just that they seem a lot happier together than they used to." Brittany reasoned.

"Well, last night I think Theo must have had another nightmare," Jeanette said, "because in the morning Theo and Elle were lying together on Theo's bed."

"Really?" Brittany questioned, not sure whether to believe her sister or not.

"Why are you asking?" Jeanette enquired, "Are you jealous?"

"No!" Brittany replied, "It's just strange seeing Theo and Elle so close."

"I think it's fine," Jeanette explained, "I'm happy with my relationship with Simon." She looked out through the bedroom door and saw Alvin and Simon on the computer, they weren't arguing for once.

"Alvin seems to have chilled out this last couple of days," Jeanette said, "Ever since you showed him that you can be brave too."

"He has been really kind and caring lately." Brittany agreed.

"Do you like Alvin as the kind personality or his old arrogant one?" Jeanette asked curiously.

"Well, I'd prefer a blend between the two actually." Brittany explained, "It's funny when he's being arrogant but nice when he's being kind and caring."

"I think this competition will bring us closer together as a family." Jeanette said, looking back down at her book and continuing to read. Brittany finished her hair and disappeared into the bathroom.

They had all encouraged Dave to help them, and the school, with the publicity side of the competition. The next day, they arrived at school early, because they had to do as Dave said as part of the agreement. There was a very good reason for going to school earlier; Dave was going with them.

Dave spotted the posters on the walls as he entered the school building.

"It looks like the contest is already stealing the limelight." Dave said.

"Dr Rubin was determined to help the school." Simon replied.

"Speaking of Dr Rubin, could one of you show me where her office is?" Dave asked.

"I'll take you. I've been there lots of times." Alvin said, looking up at Dave and grinning. Dave looked down at Alvin with a frown on his face and shook his head disapprovingly.

"Well, let's go." Dave said following Alvin as he walked off down the hall.

"It's so great that Dave is here at school." Theodore said as he watched Dave walk away to Dr Rubin's office.

Minutes later, Alvin returned.

"Dave is delivered. Dr Rubin seemed pleased to see him." Alvin said.

"According to the posters around the school, there is an assembly this afternoon, about the competition." Simon said, "No doubt we'll have to meet up with Dr Rubin beforehand." The bell rang and they all went their separate ways.

At lunch they met up with Dave in the cafeteria, all curious about what Dr Rubin had told Dave in their meeting.

"So what was your meeting about?" Alvin asked rudely.

"I can't tell you in school, besides there is an assembly later." Dave explained, "Dr Rubin wants to meet up with the six of you just before then."

"What is the assembly about?" Alvin persisted; the others looked at him and shook their heads.

"I told you Alvin," Dave said becoming annoyed, "I can't say until after school."

Dave glanced around, checking if any students were eavesdropping on their conversation. He spotted Dr Rubin, the others noticed her as well, she smiled in Dave's direction.

"Sorry guys," Dave said as he got up from their table, "I gotta go talk to the principal."

"Bye Dave," Theodore said, as Dave walked away in Dr Rubin's direction.

"I think Dr Rubin likes Dave." Alvin said, hinting that she was falling in love with Dave.

"Don't be ridiculous Alvin," Simon replied, "It's purely business."

"Is that all you think about," Brittany asked, looking at Alvin expecting a snappy reply.

"Yes," Alvin said, smiling at Brittany and raising his eyebrows. She looked at him, wondering why he wasn't acting his usual outgoing self.

"On the subject of Dr Rubin," Simon interrupted, "What kind of challenges do you suppose she has planned for us."

"Well, they aren't all sports, so maybe there will be different types of challenges," Jeanette suggested.

"I hope there will be a food one." Theodore said, hoping for the best, he and Eleanor giggled.

"That would be fun." Eleanor added.

"That area of the competition would be all yours." Brittany said, smiling at the two of them.

"I think that Simon and I should deal with the mental type challenges." Jeanette suggested.

"If you two do we can't lose." Brittany added.

"I'll cover the sports area of the contest." Alvin volunteered.

"I'll help you," Brittany added bravely, the others looking at her astonished.

"Well, we can't just rely on Alvin on his own." Brittany reasoned, "We have to work as a team."

"So, we have an idea of who is going to cover what," Simon said, "Now we just need to know what the challenges will be." He looked over in Dr Rubin's direction, checking how Dave was getting on.

"I can't wait for the assembly," Jeanette said, "We'll finally know what we're up against."

Later that day the six of them met up with Dr Rubin just before the assembly.

"As you know, I have acquired Dave's help in the publicity sector of the organisation, as you requested. So I'm granting him access to the school 24/7." Dr Rubin explained.

"24/7?" Alvin said, slightly worried about the prospect of Dave making them stay in school extra hours.

"So Dave will be in school with us all the time?" Theodore asked.

"That is correct," Dr Rubin replied, "Now if you'll excuse me gentlemen, ladies." She walked out onto the stage in the assembly hall, to announce to the entire school.

Just at that moment Dave arrived backstage, looking very nervous.

"Hi Dave." Theodore welcomed. Dave looked down and saw them all waiting for the announcement.

"Hi guys." Dave said, before focusing back on Dr Rubin on the stage.

"Students," she started, "As you know there is going to be a competition coming up, and it will be used to boost the school's reputation. To help us with this I am introducing a new temporary member of staff, he will act as a publicity coordinator, Mr Dave Seville." Dave made his way onto the stage and stood beside Dr Rubin.

"Hi," He said nervously, holding a hand up and smiling.

"Mr Seville will be around the school helping out with the competition for the next few weeks. He will have all the authorities of a teacher, so treat him with respect." The chipmunks and chipettes looked at each other, with mixed thoughts and emotions.

Dave being at school was fine, but being a member of staff meant he was practically a teacher. Giving him access to the school facilities and the authority to put Alvin in detention for misbehaving. Alvin would have to watch his step with Dave patrolling the school.

* * *

**Gasp, Alvin's gotta keep his head down and keep out of trouble. Dave is in the building.**

**Reviews welcome.**


	6. Love is Blooming

**A relationship takes a step in the right direction, and the chipmunks and chipettes get some surprising news from Dave. Enjoy.**

* * *

Dr Rubin continued the assembly by explaining the competition in detail.

"The competition will be staged at the school over a two week period." Dr Rubin explained. "It will be publicised with Mr Dave Seville's help and tickets will be sold to all the public who wish to view the event." Dave had now left the stage and joined the chipmunks and chipettes stage right.

"The competition will be split into a number of challenges, all of which will be sorted into categories, and participants will all vote independently for their desired activity in each of the categories." Dr Rubin specified, "The voting will be completed on Friday and the resulting events announced on Monday." Dr Rubin concluded the assembly as the bell rang for the end of school.

Dave, the chipmunks and the chipettes all left the school and got into the car.

"So Dave, what does the publicity entail?" Simon asked.

"The main time for publicity is at the weekend," Dave explained, "So on Saturday you're going to have some interviews and a photo shoot."

"Wow, a photo shoot," Brittany said, "I can't wait."

"Where is the photo shoot going to be?" Jeanette asked.

"It'll be in the school gymnasium." Dave answered.

"School!" Alvin replied in shock, "On a Saturday, no way."

"But Alvin, we promised." Theodore said willingly.

"Come on Alvin." Brittany encouraged, giving him the 'puppy dog' eyes routine.

"Oh alright." Alvin agreed, falling for Brittany's charm.

"It's only another photo shoot," Simon encouraged, "Same old routine."

"I still think they're fun." Theodore said.

"It'll be great." Eleanor agreed.

"That's the spirit," Dave said, "Besides I can't do it without you guys."

They all arrived at home; with the chipettes super excited about their first ever photo shoot. They went into the bedroom and started doing each other's hair, trying to make themselves look as good as possible.

"Girls," Alvin said, "Always doing their hair."

"They're just concerned about looking good for the photo shoot." Simon reasoned, "After all it is their first one."

"Our focus should be on Ryan and the jocks," Alvin protested, "Not looking good for the cameras."

At dinner, Dave had an announcement to make.

"As you all know, you have a concert coming up," Dave explained, "We don't know how long it's going to be until it will be scheduled, but we are going to be holding it in London, England."

"We're going to England?" Brittany asked in surprise.

"Is it for definite?" Jeanette asked, hoping that the concert would be a certainty.

"Yep," Dave replied, "We are definitely going, but I'm still working on the concert songs and dates we can perform."

"So we don't have our music choices yet?" Simon enquired.

"That is why I'm going to ask you all to suggest songs for the tour." Dave replied. "It may be a 'tour' if I can get a few more venues."

"Does that mean we get to pick our own songs?" Brittany asked.

"Within reason," Dave replied, "But no new material, I don't want any more work, I have enough as it is."

"That's great." Brittany said.

"So I want you all to think about the songs you want to sing, and then we can decide the song choices later this week." Dave suggested. All of them were now deep in thought about which songs they liked the best and which were most popular.

"Also, don't forget to think about those interviews, make sure you are prepared for them," Dave reminded, as he got up from the dinner table and collected all their plates.

"And the photo shoot," Brittany reminded.

"Yes, and the photo shoot," Dave replied, hearing this was no surprise to him; he knew the girls would be hooked on the idea of the photo shoot. Dave left the table and went to the kitchen with the dishes, Theodore followed him to help. The chipettes went into the bedroom and continued to dress up in anticipation for the photo shoot. Alvin got his iPod and started searching through songs to find the ones that make him sound awesome. Simon went into the kitchen to ask Dave some more questions about the details of the 'tour'.

"So Dave," Simon said as he entered the kitchen, "When was this 'tour' going to be?"

"Well, I was thinking late July through early August." Dave replied, turning to look at him. "Did you come to help tidy up?"

"Sure, I'll help," Simon answered. "How long is the tour going to be?"

"Hopefully about two weeks." Dave said. Simon helped push the dishes across the kitchen counter to Dave, who loaded them into the dishwasher.

"So, do you two have any ideas for songs at the concert?" Dave asked. Simon shrugged.

"I'm not really sure," He replied honestly, "I haven't thought enough about it to decide."

"I think we should sing 'We Are Family' like we did with the chipettes at the music competition." Theodore suggested. "That was fun."

"It would make a good encore," Dave agreed, "Doing a duet with the chipettes."

"Do you have any ideas Dave?" Simon asked.

"I'm still planning the tour, but I'll make a contribution." Dave replied. They put the last of the dishes into the dishwasher, and Dave turned it on.

"Thanks guys," Dave said, "Theodore, doesn't Meerkat Manor start soon?"

"Oh yeah, thanks Dave." Theodore replied, scurrying off to the living room to watch TV.

"Simon," Dave asked, "Has Theodore been acting strange lately?"

"Not really, though he and Eleanor are quite close. I think Theo's coming down with a case of love." Simon replied chuckling to himself.

"Okay, thanks." Dave said, acknowledging that Simon was looking out for his brother. Simon went into the living room and joined Theodore to watch Meerkat Manor. Alvin came and joined the two of them with his head full of songs that he thought that they should sing.

"There are so many songs that we are awesome at," Alvin said, "We can sing any song and still sound great."

"Any particular songs in mind?" Simon asked.

"Well I think we could sing any of the following," Alvin started, "'You Really Got Me', 'You Spin Me Round', 'Bring It On', 'Rock n' Roll', 'Undeniable'..."

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down we only need one or two," Simon interrupted, "Not half of our albums."

"Quiet guys," Theodore said politely, "It's starting." Meerkat Manor started, they sat quietly and watched. Meanwhile, the girls were trying out hairstyles and outfits for the photo shoot at the weekend.

Dave walked past the boys and went into his music room; this is where he works on songs and other projects. When Meerkat Manor had finished, they all got up yawning and stretching, knowing it was nearing bedtime and Dave would most definitely remind them. The three of them headed for Dave's music room, curious about what he was up to. But before they could do so,

"Hey guys," Brittany asked, "Could you come here a moment."

"Why?" Alvin asked Simon and Theodore.

"We better do as she says," Simon suggested, "We don't want to start an argument and disturb Dave."

"I guess you're right." Alvin agreed. The three of them went to the bedroom door; they entered and saw the chipettes.

"So, how do we look?" Brittany asked, as they stood in full dress up.

Brittany was in a pink dress, short with frills at the bottom of it, and her hair was more styled than usual. Alvin was in awe at Brittany's beauty, he was literally speechless.

Jeanette was dressed similarly, except her dress was purple and had a lower cut top, her hair was tied further back allowing it to flow.

"Wow." Simon said, looking slightly embarrassed but mostly shocked by Jeanette's hotter and more flamboyant side. Jeanette giggled at this reaction and shuffled one of her feet, she was slightly embarrassed as well.

Eleanor was wearing a green knee high dress with a glittery seam around the bottom, her hair was very loosely tied, letting it flow further down her back. Theodore smiled when he saw her all dressed up.

"You look great." Theodore commented.

"Does this dress make me look pretty?" Eleanor asked, wanting to know his opinion.

"You always look pretty." Theodore answered smiling at her. Eleanor walked over and hugged him.

"Aww, that's so cute." Jeanette whispered to Brittany.

"Do they have to be so lovey-dovey?" Brittany replied quietly.

"How come those two are being so 'cutesy' all the time?" Alvin whispered, shuffling over to Brittany and Jeanette.

"It's only like when you and Alvin are kissing." Jeanette reasoned.

"Trying to kiss, before being rudely interrupted," Alvin corrected quietly.

"Are you jealous?" Simon asked, as he shuffled over and joined them.

"No!" Alvin and Brittany replied angrily.

Just at that moment, as if signalled, Dave appeared at the door of the bedroom. He coughed to clear his throat, alerting the six of them to his presence.

"Okay, you all need to start getting ready for bed." Dave interrupted. Theodore and Eleanor quickly broke off their long hug.

"Okay Dave." They both replied quickly, before scurrying to their beds. Dave watched them and raised an eyebrow, showing that he had a good idea that Theodore and Eleanor had feelings for each other that were surfacing. The others looked up at Dave curiously, seeing the facial expression he had when he looked at Theodore and Eleanor.

"Wow, you girls look great." Dave commented, looking down at Brittany and Jeanette.

"Thank you." Brittany replied, expecting to hear a comment of how awesome she looked.

"Thanks." Jeanette replied, giggling with embarrassment.

"Practising for the photo shoot?" Dave hinted. The two of them smiled up at him appreciating how he had noticed.

"You'd better get to bed though, it's getting late." Dave reasoned, "Don't want to miss out on that beauty sleep."

"Yeah, you need it." Alvin added jokingly, Brittany glared at him with an enraged look in her eyes. There was the old Alvin Seville that had lay dormant for the past couple of days.

"Alvin!" she said, annoyed at him. "You're so mean sometimes."

"Lighten up, it's a joke." Alvin said, trying to calm her down. "You know I don't mean it."

Brittany marched off and got changed into her pyjamas, the others followed suit, and before long they were all tucked up ready for bed. Dave said good night and they all had a peaceful night sleep, safe in the knowledge that Dave would be by their side every step of the way.

The next morning, Thursday, was the day of the meeting for the competition. The six of them all woke up bright and early, helped by the fact that the sun was up and it was very warm outside.

"Looks like the right weather for summer wear," Dave announced, as he collected up his paperwork from the music room. "We better get going; we want to be there nice and early."

Alvin groaned at hear Dave say early, as the six of them headed for the front door. Dave rushed up and opened it for them; he seemed in a bit of a hurry to get to school.

"Got a meeting with Dr Rubin?" Simon asked, picking up on Dave's frantic dash to be at school early.

"Yes." Dave said slightly annoyed, he opened the back door of the car, letting them get in, before shutting it behind them. Dave hopped into the car and quickly set off.

"Don't want to make a bad impression, especially on the first day." Dave explained as he drove the car to school. When he got to the school parking lot, there was already a staff parking space designated for him.

"Wow, you're moving up in the world, Dave." Alvin said in a joking tone. They all got out of the car and went into school, to their lockers.

"Make sure you get to class on time," Dave warned, "I'm going to Dr Rubin's office now, so I'll see you all later."

"Bye Dave," Theodore said, watching him walk off down the hall.

"Remember, we have the meeting later today," Simon reminded the rest of them.

They all went to their classes, nice and early, just as Dave had said.

Later, after second period, Theodore and Eleanor came out of their class together to find themselves being confronted by Ryan, who was walking down the hall.

"You and your tubby friend better be ready to get squashed in the competition." Ryan intimidated. "It shouldn't be very hard, 'cause you're short and fat."

"Leave us alone," Theodore said nervously, hoping that he would give up bullying them.

"Where did you find this fatty?" Ryan asked insultingly, pointing at Eleanor. By this point Eleanor was becoming upset, Theodore could tell, she was trying not to show it. This made Theodore angry.

"At least she's not the one with a big head." Theodore shouted at Ryan, referring to his ego.

Ryan became very annoyed, he moved in closer to intimidate the two of them further. But quickly backed off and walked away at the sight of Dave down the hall.

"Are you okay?" Theodore asked, really concerned about how she was handling it.

"I'm fine," she replied, wiping a tear away. "Thanks Theo."

Eleanor kissed Theodore on the cheek and followed up with an intimate hug. He held her tight, brushing his cheek against hers. The warmth of the hug settled the two down and made them feel much better, being together, for them, is all they needed.

Dave, having seen most of what had just happened, rushed over to see if they were alright.

"Are you two okay?" Dave asked, concerned that the bully might have hurt them. Theodore and Eleanor stood holding hands and looked up at Dave, they both smiled.

"We're okay, now." Eleanor answered.

"I saw what happened, who was that guy?" Dave asked.

"Ryan, one of the jocks we are playing against in the challenges." Theodore replied.

"I see why you were all worried about the contest," Dave said, "But you're definitely okay?"

"Yep." They both replied, smiling at Dave and then at each other.

"Good," Dave replied, "Well, I've gotta get goin', try not to get into trouble you two."

Dave walked off down the hall in the direction of the cafeteria, leaving Theodore and Eleanor alone, together again.

* * *

**Way to go Theodore, he stood up to Ryan and saved the day. But they still have the meeting with Dr Rubin and Ryan's jocks. **

**A Happy ending, for now.**

**Please review.**


	7. Concert Preparations

**I enjoyed writing this chapter, so funny. I hope you enjoy reading it.**

* * *

Later on that day, at lunch, Theodore and Eleanor met up with the rest of the gang. Dave joined the six of them for lunch, after talking to Dr Rubin at another table.

"Hi guys," Dave said, "Are you all okay?"

"Yeh, why wouldn't we be?" Alvin answered.

"Well, are you two okay?" Dave asked, directing his question at Theodore and Eleanor.

"We're fine," Eleanor replied.

"Wait, did something happen this morning?" Simon asked, picking up on Dave's concern about their wellbeing, as well as his focus on Theodore and Eleanor.

"We had a run-in with Ryan." Eleanor answered.

"Are you two okay?" Jeanette asked concerned about how they were feeling.

"What happened?" Brittany asked.

"Ryan was bullying us." Theodore said nervously.

"I saw most of what happened," Dave said, "Theodore and Eleanor were being bullied by Ryan after class; he left them alone when he saw me."

"Good thing you were there." Simon said to Dave.

"Theodore and Eleanor stuck together and that's what got them through the ordeal." Dave said, "Oh, by the way, the meeting this afternoon is at 2:00pm in Dr Rubin's office." He stood up and grabbed his tray. "I've gotta go work on the concert, so I'll see you all later at the meeting."

"You're working too hard Dave." Alvin said, "You should relax."

"I can relax once the whole tour is organised." Dave replied, walking away.

They all carried on with their lunches, Alvin decided to find out more about what Ryan did, after spotting him sitting at a table in the middle of the cafeteria.

"What did Ryan do to you two this morning?" Alvin asked, annoyed at the fact Ryan was still trying to bully them before the competition.

"We left class together and he was walking past." Theodore explained, "He stopped in front of us and started calling us names."

"He started insulting me," Eleanor continued, "But Theo told him off and he went away."

Eleanor smiled at the others, happy that Theodore was the hero and stood up for her despite his shy nature.

"Theo stood up for you?" Simon asked, amazed.

"That was so brave of you." Jeanette added.

Theodore blushed and shuffled his feet; he wasn't use to being the centre of attention.

"He was being mean to Eleanor, I had to do something." Theodore explained.

"Good job Theo," Simon said, approving of his brother's bravery.

Simon and Jeanette were both proud of the bond between Theodore and Eleanor. Brittany, not knowing what to think about their relationship, kept quiet. Alvin was slightly annoyed inside, even Theodore could stand up to Ryan, and in his eyes Theodore was a coward. Alvin was determined to live up to his reputation and stand up to Ryan himself, man to...chipmunk.

At 2:00pm sharp, they all met up at Dr Rubin's office for the briefing on the competition. Dr Rubin was sat at the end of a long rectangular table, with Dave sat at the opposite end. Ryan and his team sat to Dr Rubin's right, and the chipmunks and chipettes sat to her left.

"As you all know by now, I'll be organising the competition." Dr Rubin began. "The competition has been formatted into six challenges, with a seventh if there is a tie at three rounds each." She looked around the table to check if anyone was confused, before continuing. "The challenges will fall into the following categories; physical, mental and miscellaneous."

"What would the miscellaneous events cover?" Ryan asked.

"Probably, random activities." Xander replied. Ryan gave him an annoyed glare, Xander kept his head down and his mouth shut.

"The miscellaneous sector of the competition would include events that are neither physical activities such as sports, nor mental activities such as logical puzzles." Dr Rubin answered, looking at Ryan waiting for a response.

"O-kay" Ryan answered hesitantly, not understanding what Dr Rubin was talking about. This reaction made Alvin chuckle, Simon leaned over and nudged him to make him stop. Ryan glared at Alvin, who was now pretending not to notice him and acting as if he hadn't chuckled.

"As I was saying," Dr Rubin continued, interrupting the scene that was developing between Alvin and Ryan. "Each challenge will be voted for by each of you, individually." She put an emphasis on the last word, making her point clear; no conferring. "There will be a choice of events for each category, each participant will choose one of three events, and the votes will be counted up. The event with the most votes will be the chosen activity for that round. In the event of a tie, the school will decide with a public vote."

"That wouldn't be fair," Ryan said, protesting against the idea of students voting. "They're rock stars."

"Oh, you noticed." Alvin replied smugly, with a smirk on his face. Brittany giggled at Alvin's snappy reply; there was his arrogant side that she had talked to Jeanette about. Jeanette looked across at Brittany and smiled, knowing that she liked Alvin's outgoing and cheeky personality.

"A vote is the fair answer," Dr Rubin insisted, "Democracy rules in this school."

"That's just a popularity contest." Ryan answered back.

"It's a good thing it isn't," Alvin added, hinting at how super popular he was.

"That's not my problem," Dr Rubin interrupted. "The students are voting for the activities not the competitors."

This stopped Ryan arguing, he knew that she had a point, the voting was going to be anonymous.

"For every event, three members from each team will participate. The teams can decide, freely, who they want to compete in each event. Although, each member of the team must compete in three of the six events." Dr Rubin continued. "That about covers all the details of the competition."

Ryan dropped his head onto the table in despair, sighed, and then lifted it back up.

"Can we go now?" Ryan asked in a bored tone.

"Yes, you can leave gentlemen." Dr Rubin replied. Ryan and his team all got up and left the office.

"What's his problem?" Alvin said, knowing that he had really annoyed Ryan. Brittany looked at Alvin and smiled, he looked back puzzled. Why was she smiling at him, he was just being his usual awesome self.

"Well, that's the meeting done," Dr Rubin announced, "It's still early before the end of school, but you can leave if you wish."

"Yes." Alvin celebrated happily, jumping out of his seat, which had a stack of books on it, to provide adequate height for each of the six of them.

"It's okay," Dave answered, "We need to stay in school and work on concert material anyway."

"What?" Alvin's response was one of utter shock.

"Really?" Dr Rubin asked, "Maybe I'll call in to see how you're doing, later on after school."

"That'd be great." Dave approved. "Let's go guys, we got a lot of work to do."

Dr Rubin smiled at the six of them as they left her office. They all headed for the music room, which Dave knew was empty.

"Why do we have to stay after school?" Alvin moped, trailing along behind the rest of them.

"Because I said so." Dave replied, opening the door to the music room to let them in.

"We promised, Alvin." Theodore said, willing him to help them and not be a burden.

"Besides we need some song confirming." Dave replied, "Three venues is a lot of songs."

"Three?" Simon enquired.

"Did I say three?" Dave asked.

"Have we got more concerts?" Brittany asked, excited at the prospect of performing in front of so many different people.

"Yes, I was going to keep it a secret until Saturday." Dave answered honestly, "But one of them is still not for definite."

"You're a miracle worker, Dave." Alvin said, praising his organisational skills.

"I try my best." Dave replied modestly. The six of them jumped up onto the stage, at the front of the music room.

"So, what are we working on?" Simon asked.

"Remember when I asked you to try and decide which songs you liked?" Dave reminded. "I thought that we could all have a brainstorming session, and maybe practise a few songs." He stood by a piano to the right of the stage, looking at the six of them.

"I think Theodore was onto something," Dave said, "You should do a duet, the six of you."

"A duet?" Alvin asked, "They'll cramp our style." Brittany immediately punched him hard in the side of the shoulder.

"We are performing too, you know." Brittany replied.

"That's right, this is your first concert, so all of you get equal time in the spotlight." Dave added, agreeing with Brittany. She stuck her tongue out at Alvin childishly; he gave her an annoyed stare, before rolling his eyes and turning back to Dave.

"So Dave, where are we performing?" Simon asked.

"Oh yeah," Dave replied, realising that he hadn't told them. "As you already know, we have London as the main venue. I've managed to add Manchester as well, but I haven't found the third venue yet."

"At least we have two." Eleanor encouraged.

"It _is _a tour because we have more than one venue now." Jeanette reasoned.

"What songs will we be singing?" Theodore asked, looking to Dave for guidance.

"I may have one or two ideas," Dave answered. "But you are the ones choosing the songs this time." He grabbed a notepad and a pen and leaned on the piano. "So, any suggestions?"

"How about 'Undeniable'" Alvin suggested, "'Cause let's face it, I am." He looked across at Brittany seductively, she giggled to herself and rolled her eyes at Alvin's attempt to flirt.

"Okay, any others," Dave continued.

"How about 'Follow Me Now'," Simon suggested. "We were going to sing it for the school contest, before Ian showed up turned everything on its head."

"That's when we made our debut." Jeanette added.

"We should sing 'Hot n' Cold', after all it was our debut song." Brittany said, referring to the time the chipettes sang in front of Dr Rubin, the chipmunks and a handful of students.

"That would be great," Dave agreed, "I've never seen you perform that one."

"How about 'Single Ladies'?" Jeanette asked.

"It is the song that launched our careers," Eleanor added.

"I've seen you perform it, over the internet. It's one of your best." Dave commented. After several more minutes of brainstorming, Dave had a list of a dozen songs, a few of which were his own ideas.

"We've got the songs," Dave said, "I just need to organise them into order for the concerts." He jotted down a few notes about a couple of the songs, before continuing. "To put the songs in order, we'll have to practise them first."

"Now?" Alvin asked.

"Well, we're in a music room, with a stage and sound equipment." Dave replied, "It would be a shame not to use them."

Dave got some CD's out of his briefcase, and walked over to the sound system at the back of the stage.

"I have the CDs and the equipment to play the backing music from them." Dave explained, "So who's going first?"

The six of them looked across at one another, waiting for someone to make the first move. Brittany grabbed her sisters by their arms and dragged them off the stage.

"You're up Alvin." Brittany said, laying down the challenge for him to impress her. Alvin, not knowing what to think, looked across to Simon, he shrugged, and then Theodore, he smiled; looking forward to the trio singing together.

"Okay," Alvin said reluctantly.

"Since 'Undeniable' seems like a suitable opening song, we'll try that first." Dave told the three chipmunks, as he put the disc in the machine and skipped to the correct track.

The three chipettes were sat on a seat in the front row, fidgeting with anticipation; they had never seen the chipmunks perform in person. Dave came and joined them, sitting on a seat next to them with his notepad and pen in his hands. The chipmunks got into position and performed their routine to the song, inch perfect, making it look as professional as possible. The chipettes were mesmerised by the performance, and also by the fact that it was right in front of their own eyes. Once the song had finished, Dave stood up and clapped.

"Guys, that was excellent, at that standard it will definitely be the opening song for the concerts." He congratulated.

"So, what did you think?" Alvin asked.

"You were brilliant." Eleanor said.

"It was so professional." Jeanette added.

Alvin looked at Brittany, who was either daydreaming or mesmerised by their performance, he couldn't tell. Brittany snapped out of her trance and focused on Alvin.

"Awesome," She said, summing the performance up in one word.

"I'm glad we all agree," Dave said looking across at the chipettes, as if he were on a judging panel. "Well girls, it's your turn."

"I'm so excited," Eleanor said, hardly able to hold back the joy she was feeling. They were actually going to perform, personally, for the chipmunks, their idols and now close friends.

"I think you should sing 'Hot n' Cold'," Dave suggested, "What do you think?"

"Great," Brittany replied, "It is our debut song after all."

"Okay, I'll set it up." Dave said going back stage to start the music. The three chipmunks changed places with the chipette, and sat on the seat next to Dave's.

"Good luck." Theodore said.

"Thanks." Eleanor replied.

"Do your best." Simon encouraged.

"Okay," Dave said, "Ready?"

"Let's do it." Brittany said confidently.

The music started and the chipettes moved into position to start their routine. As soon as Brittany started to sing, Alvin melted, she was so beautiful when performing. Simon and Theodore sat smiling, enjoying the singing and dancing, willing the three of them to nail the performance. Their notes were all perfect and their movements were scintillating. The performance sent a tingling sensation down Dave's spine.

"Girls, that was fantastic," He commented, standing up and applauding.

"It was great." Theo said happily, glad that they had done so well. Dave turned to Simon, looking to him for his opinion.

"It was astounding." Simon added. Dave smiled at Simon, and then looked across at Alvin.

"What do you think, Alvin?" Dave asked.

"It was hot." Alvin replied, looking into Brittany's eyes, trying to seduce her. Brittany was taken aback by Alvin's positive feedback, and fell for his seductive response.

Jeanette and Eleanor felt like they were on top of the world, they had performed in front of the chipmunks, and they had loved it. Brittany was occupied in her mind with Alvin's continuous advances, what had gotten into him lately? The six of them continued practising their songs, in-turn, throughout the afternoon.

"I'm hungry," Theodore said looking at Dave. In response, Dave looked across the room at a clock on the wall; it was already 6:00pm. They had been rehearsing for over 3 hours, they were having so much fun, and the time had flown by.

"Okay, I think that's enough for today." Dave decided.

"That was so much fun," Eleanor said, "I forgot how hungry I was."

"I think we've missed dinner time." Simon said, looking at the clock and then at Dave. He was collecting all of the CDs from the sound system and putting them into his briefcase. Theodore's stomach rumbled, Eleanor giggled, looking across at his stomach.

"We're both hungry," Eleanor said.

Dave returned from the backstage area with all his belongings.

"Maybe we should go out for food today." Dave suggested, "How does that sound?"

"Great." Theodore and Eleanor replied in unison, the others laughed.

"Well, let's get going." Dave prompted. They all left the school and drove to a fast food restaurant nearby.

"I know it's not very health," Dave said as he parked the car outside the restaurant. "But you all deserve it, you've really worked hard today." They were all happy to hear this, Dave thought that they should be rewarded for all the extra work they had done.

In the fast food restaurant, they all sat eating their food, whilst Dave was daydreaming, probably about the concert. Theodore and Eleanor were happily snacking away at some chicken nuggets together. Simon and Jeanette were tucking into a small serving of fries, whilst at the same time keeping an eye on Alvin and Brittany. The two of them were sharing a milkshake together; they were stood on top of the lid of the cup with a straw each. Simon looked across to Jeanette, she rolled her eyes, understanding what Simon was looking at.

"It looks like they're taking a leaf out of Theo and Elle's book." Simon said to Jeanette, she smiled at the sight of the two of them sharing the milkshake. Theodore overheard Simon and looked across at him.

"What leaf?" Theodore asked.

"It's a figure of speech." Simon replied.

"We just meant that Alvin and Brittany are getting along, like you and Elle do." Jeanette explained.

"At least they're not fighting." Eleanor added.

By now the four of them were gazing across at Alvin and Brittany, watching how well the two of them were getting along.

Alvin and Brittany drank the milkshake, staring into each other's eyes as they were using the straws. Alvin stopped drinking, as did Brittany,

"You got some milkshake on you." Alvin said.

"Where?" Brittany asked, puzzled at how she would have gotten any on her using a straw.

"I'll get it." Alvin moved across and kissed Brittany. She didn't resist, as she didn't expect it, Alvin stood back and smiled. "Got it."

Brittany wondered what had come over Alvin, he wasn't usually this caring towards her, maybe she had done something to bring him round to his senses.

"Was there really any milkshake on me?" Brittany asked, suspecting that there wasn't.

"There was..." Alvin replied, "...on your lips." He smiled at thinking of such a clever answer, and was happy to see Brittany smiling back at him. After a brief pause Brittany burst out laughing, Alvin was being so 'corny' it was almost unreal.

"Was it something I said?" Alvin said, joking about his 'cheesy' reply about the milkshake. The two of them sat laughing because of what had just happened between them. Simon and Jeanette were watching, slightly confused at why Alvin and Brittany were acting weird.

"That was...cute." Jeanette said, looking for a word for what they had just witnessed.

"Cute, but also gross." Simon added, looking across in Theodore and Eleanor's direction to see their reactions. The two of them were staring in disbelief of what they had just seen.

"Don't get any ideas, you two." Simon said. Theodore and Eleanor looked at Simon with confusion written all over their faces. "Never mind." Simon replied at this response.

The laughing of Alvin and Brittany had snapped Dave out of his daydreaming, and he looked across at the six of them.

"Are you all done eating?" Dave asked, looking at each of them in turn. He looked at Alvin and Brittany, who were still laughing together, and then looked down at Simon. Simon rolled his eyes, and then slowly shook his head from side to side. Dave knew what Simon meant by this, same old Alvin, up to his old tricks again.

It was now getting late, so they all left the fast food restaurant and went home. The day had been so much fun for them, and they had done so much that they were exhausted. At arriving home, they all retired to their beds, falling asleep as soon as their heads rested on the pillow.

* * *

**Alvin and Brittany are finally getting along, and loving it. Their tour in England, Awesome, I wish I could go. Anyway.**

**Please review, feedback would be nice :)**

**Until next time.**


	8. Let the Voting Begin

**The story is starting to get interesting, even when writing it.**

**The voting is now upon the teams, with only a couple of weeks until the competition starts.**

* * *

It's now Friday, the end of the week, with the weekend fast approaching. Late in the school day, 2:30pm, Alvin and Brittany are together in math class. Predictably Alvin has one eye on the clock and the other eye on Brittany.

"Ahem, pay attention Mr Seville." The teacher said glaring at Alvin. Brittany turned to look at Alvin, and caught him gazing at her. Alvin quickly turned his attention to the teacher, who was annoyed by the lack of attention he was paying to the math class. Alvin glanced at the clock checking how long there was left until he could escape the boredom. The teacher caught sight of this,

"If you don't pay attention, you won't be leaving at 3pm," he said.

"Sorry," Alvin replied, horrified at the thought of being put in detention, especially with Dave working at the school.

The time slowly crept by, until the school bell rang, Alvin grabbed his books and marched out of the classroom. Brittany caught up with him half way down the hall, on the way to their lockers.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Brittany asked, walking at a brisk pace to keep up.

"It's Friday." Alvin replied, making the answer sound obvious.

"We still have the voting to go through, you know." Brittany reminded.

"The sooner we do the stupid vote, the sooner we can go home." Alvin explained as he picked up the pace of his walking. Brittany sighed and gave up on trying to keep up with Alvin's speed walking. She got to the lockers a couple of minutes after Alvin, just as the others were arriving.

"What took you so long?" Alvin asked them all, as he leant against his locker in a relaxed pose.

"You only got here before us because you ran." Brittany replied.

"I was speed walking, actually." Alvin corrected.

"Whatever." Brittany said, not caring what Alvin had done to get there before them.

"You still had to wait for us." Simon added confidently. Alvin didn't respond to this, he knew his brother had a good point.

"Are you all ready to vote?" Dave asked enthusiastically, approaching from down the hall.

"We need to vote tactically." Jeanette proposed.

"Jen's right, if we all vote for the same events then the jocks won't get the events that they want." Simon agreed.

"We need to vote for events that all of us can do." Brittany said.

"If we work together we can beat them." Eleanor added.

"Okay, glad to hear you have a plan," Dave said, "We better go to the voting, Dr Rubin will be waiting."

The six of them followed Dave to the school gymnasium, where the voting booths had been erected. The jocks were already in the gymnasium when they arrived, and they had a new addition to the team. Jeremy, a friend of Ryan, was stood with the team.

Alvin saw this and immediately complained. "Jeremy can't be part of their team, he wasn't at the meeting."

Dr Rubin overheard Alvin and walked over to them all.

"I'm afraid there are no rules against substituting team members before the voting takes place." She explained.

"Yeah, we're not breaking any rules." Ryan shouted to Alvin.

"So, are you all ready to vote?" Dr Rubin asked.

"Yes." Eleanor replied.

Dr Rubin led the six of them to a voting booth with a curtain across the door. Ryan and his team approached the voting booth next to them.

"You will each take it in turn to fill in the ballot paper and post it into the box." Dr Rubin said, "This booth is for you." She pointed out which one was for the chipmunks and chipettes. "Let the voting begin."

One by one the six of them filled in and posted their ballot papers, as did Ryan's team.

"Thank you all for voting," Dr Rubin announced, "The votes will be confirmed and the events chosen will be made public on Monday, have a nice weekend."

The six of them all stood in a group near the exit of the gymnasium, waiting for Dave who was talking to Dr Rubin.

"You're all gonna get squashed." Ryan teased. "The physical events are ours." The rest of the team walked past in Ryan's footsteps, leaving the room.

"But we will win the other four events." Simon encouraged.

"Yeh, we'll do great." Eleanor added.

"I'm glad that's all sorted," Dave said, "Let's go home."

Once they got home, Dave summoned them all to the living room.

"Since we've got this week of mishaps out of the way, what do you say to some pizza." Dave suggested.

"Alright." Alvin celebrated. The six of them were all still wondering why Dave wanted them all to meet up in the living room. Dave went and ordered the pizza, before returning and sitting down on the chair opposite them.

"Pizza's on its way." Dave said.

"Why are we all here in the living room?" Simon asked, "Did you have something planned?"

"Oh no." Alvin commented. Dave gave him a stern look before proceeding.

"I thought that we could work out the voting ourselves, so we don't have to wait until Monday." Dave explained.

"That's a great idea." Jeanette said.

"It'll put our minds at ease." Simon added.

"I've got a list of the events, so if I get my flipchart we can tally up the votes." Dave said.

"What about the pizza?" Theodore asked.

"We'll add the votes up after pizza." Dave decided.

Fifteen minutes later, the door bell rings, and Dave goes to answer it. The others continue talking about the competition.

"I can't believe Dr Rubin let Jeremy join Ryan's team at the last minute, it's so unfair." Alvin complained.

"It was a sneaky move, but they didn't break the rules." Simon replied.

"Does it really matter about this Jeremy guy joining the team?" Brittany asked making it look like Alvin was overreacting.

"Well, yes." Alvin replied, slightly annoyed by Brittany's ignorance.

"Why?" Eleanor asked curiously.

"He's like super smart," Alvin explained, "Compared to the jocks anyway."

"Don't worry guys," Theodore encouraged, "We can still win."

"That's right; Simon and Jeanette can beat him." Eleanor agreed encouraging them.

"Two heads are better than one." Simon summarised.

Dave returned from the front door and interrupted the conversation.

"The pizza has arrived," Dave said putting it down on the table, "Dig in guys."

After they had eaten the pizza, Dave went and got his flipchart and some pens. He drew a tally chart and listed all the events in the order they were on the ballot paper.

"So, let's count up." Dave said, "How many of you voted for dodge ball?"

Everyone put a hand up to be counted, except Alvin.

"Alvin?" Brittany asked, "What did you vote for?"

"Football, of course." Alvin replied.

"Why did you vote to play football?" Brittany asked, this time with an annoyed tone to her voice.

"I like football, I'm good at it." Alvin responded.

"Well the rest of us aren't," Brittany snapped.

"We were supposed to vote tactically," Simon added, joining in with Brittany. Seeing Alvin backed into a corner with no response to their ongoing criticism, Jeanette interrupted.

"We don't know if the jocks were smart enough to vote for the same event." She encouraged.

"That's right," Dave agreed, "Five votes for dodge ball are going to be hard to beat. Why did you vote for dodge ball?"

"Well, from gym class, Theo and I know that Alvin is good at it." Simon explained.

"So, it was a good choice, five votes is enough to win the round." Dave summarised. Alvin was off the hook for now, but what else had he voted for.

"So next up is the mental challenge," Dave announced. "Any votes for chess?"

Again the five of them each raised a hand, leaving Alvin on his own, voting for a different event.

"Five votes for chess, what did you vote for Alvin?" Dave asked. "Checkers or the math challenge?"

"Math challenge, jocks can't do math." Alvin reasoned. Brittany was now glaring at him; he didn't like the look she had on her face.

"Once again five votes are probably enough," Dave said. He announced the next round; the same five hands went up all for the same event, while Alvin had other ideas.

"Why did you vote for go-karting?" Dave asked dumbfounded at why Alvin had voted for go-karts and not video games like the rest of them.

"I thought it would be fun, I've always wanted to try go-karts." Alvin replied. Brittany gave a huge sigh; she was getting frustrated by the lack of tactical voting he had displayed.

"At least you didn't vote for darts." Simon said, getting annoyed with Alvin's choices. Dave quickly intervened before the situation could become a fight.

"Video games will be the event for that round, I hope." Dave said giving Alvin a stern look.

"For the next one, I suspect you all chose the running event." Dave said. All of them, including Alvin, raised a hand.

"Finally," Brittany said, aiming the criticism at Alvin.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alvin asked, ticked off at the continuous comments coming from Brittany.

"You actually used your head for once." Brittany replied.

"It's a good thing that you don't use yours, your ego is big enough as it is." Alvin answered back.

"Oh, look who's talking." Brittany said angrily.

"That's enough you two." Dave interrupted. Theodore and Eleanor were looking at them with slightly worried looks on their faces. Simon was giving Alvin an angry glare, while Jeanette had a look of concern for the two of them. Dave quickly got on with the next round to try and calm the six of them down; he could tell that tempers were fraying.

"How about the next one? The number and word puzzles, otherwise known as countdown." Dave asked. Yet again Alvin was the odd one out, voting for a different event to the others. A look of despair appeared on their faces, even Dave's, as he knew that Alvin was going to get a lot of blame for this.

"The final event, I know that you all will have voted for the cooking challenge." Dave said looking specifically at Theodore and Eleanor, they both smiled and raised a hand, as did the rest of the team.

"Wow, Alvin actually thought about the team on this one." Brittany said, venting some of her anger caused by Alvin's inconsiderate voting.

"Coming from you, Ms centre of her own universe." Alvin stated bluntly.

"I'm not the one who only thinks about himself. Not caring about anybody, and especially not me." Brittany said becoming upset by Alvin's neglect.

"Look who's talking," Alvin replied, hurt by the accusations of not caring about Brittany and also the fact that she doesn't care about him either. "You're the 'wannabe' following in my footsteps."

Tears began to roll out of Brittany's eyes; she was hurt by Alvin's offensive comment, accusing her of copying Alvin and trying to take away his spotlight.

"I would never want to be like you," Brittany said holding back the urge to cry. "You're cold, heartless and insensitive."

Brittany ran off to the bedroom in tears, closing the door behind her and burying her head in her pillow. Alvin was stood gazing in the direction of the bedroom, speechless at what had just happened. How had things between them gone south so fast, was it his fault? All these questions were spinning around in his head as he contemplated Brittany in tears. Thinking about this also brought a tear to his eye. Alvin quickly rushed off, away from the rest of them, trying to hide the fact that he was upset.

Simon had seen this and thought that Alvin was upset by his own actions. While Jeanette thought the complete opposite; Alvin must have felt bad that Brittany had been so harsh to him throughout the day. Theodore and Eleanor just looked upset, seeing the two of them fight like that was always upsetting. Theodore's bottom lip was quivering; Eleanor put a comforting arm around him, he hugged her in response.

Dave hadn't got a clue what to do; Theodore was upset, Brittany was crying, and Alvin had disappeared somewhere.

"At the risk of stating the obvious, I think we should keep Alvin and Brittany apart." Simon suggested.

"Good idea." Dave agreed.

"We can take care of Brittany." Jeanette said. Eleanor nodded in agreement.

"I suppose that Theo and I can keep Alvin in order." Simon added.

"You three can have my bed for tonight." Dave said to Simon and Theodore.

"What about you?" Simon asked.

"I can sleep on the couch," Dave replied. "It's okay, as long as we get them to go to the publicity event tomorrow."

"We'll try our best," Eleanor said, as she finished hugging Theodore.

"Where is Alvin?" Theodore asked.

"Good point, we'll have to find him first." Simon answered.

"Let's go, Jen." Eleanor said walking to the bedroom door.

"I'll get the bed sorted out while you find Alvin." Dave said.

"Okay," Simon replied, "Come on Theo." Theodore jumped off the couch and followed Simon in the direction that Alvin had left in.

Eleanor knocked on the bedroom door, as Jeanette got there, Dave walked over and opened the door just enough for them to walk through, before heading for his bedroom.

Simon and Theodore searched everywhere in the house that Alvin could be hiding, but couldn't find him.

"Has he run away?" Theo asked worrying himself.

"No, I have a good idea where he is." Simon reassured.

The two of them made their way outside to the bench in the garden; sure enough Alvin was sat there alone with his head in his hands. They approached slowly knowing Alvin wanted to be alone and might be angry at them if they go barging in.

"Alvin?" Simon asked in a soft tone. Alvin quickly picked up his head and looked around to see the two of them stood together on the path beside the bench.

"Are you okay?" Theodore asked, concerned about him being upset.

"I'm fine," Alvin answered vaguely.

"Why did you come out here?" Simon asked curiously.

Alvin's mind flashed back to just a They were happy together with not a care in the world, cuddling up together, happy. Alvin's memories trailed off and he found himself back outside, with his two brothers.

"I was...just getting some air." Alvin said, looking away from his brothers. Hiding the tears in his eyes, brought back by that happy moment he had reminisced about.

"Okay." Simon replied, giving the impression that he had bought his brother's answer.

"Dave said we could sleep in his bed tonight," Theodore said.

"We better go in, he'll be wondering where we are." Simon added.

"Okay, thanks guys." Alvin replied. He was relieved that his brothers were by his side, now that Brittany had fallen out with him, he felt alone.

Inside, Dave had seen to the girls and closed the bedroom door; he turned around to see the three chipmunks stood behind him.

"There you are," Dave said, "I wondered where you were."

"We were just getting some air." Simon replied, giving a knowing smile to Alvin. This made him feel better; Simon was on his side and not arguing against him for once.

"I'm tired now." Theodore said yawning.

"Must have been that air," Dave said smiling at the three of them, before walking to his bedroom. The three of them followed him to the bedroom, where he had arranged his bed for them. They got ready for bed, and said goodnight to Dave before he left the room.

"What happened today, Alvin?" Simon asked quietly.

"You two were getting along so well," Theodore added.

"I don't know guys," Alvin answered.

"Apart from the voting, did anything else happen?" Simon enquired.

"Nothing that I can remember," Alvin said, "But whatever it was, it wasn't my fault, I hope."

After this there was a silence, Simon thought for a second before asking the next question.

"Did it ever occur to you that Britt felt a bit unappreciated?" Simon asked, "I did warn you about being harsh with her at times."

"I know, but I can't believe how harsh she was to me." Alvin replied, reliving the incident in his head, feeling every insulting word as if it was a punch to the stomach, making him speechless and causing him so much pain inside.

Simon and Theodore drifted off to sleep, leaving Alvin to contemplate what he could have done to upset Brittany so much.

* * *

**When there's a problem it always involves Alvin somehow.**

**Please review. I have no idea on a scale of 1 to 10 where I am.**

**Thanks for reading :)**


	9. Photo Shoot Fiasco

**Time for the photo shoot and interview, and looking at the title, it can only mean trouble.**

* * *

The three chipmunks awoke in Dave's bed, after sleeping apart from the chipettes; Dave was sleeping on the couch. They were all happy that it was a Saturday; they had the publicity event at the school. Alvin jumped out of bed happy that it was the weekend, but quickly remembered what had happened last night between him and Brittany. He stopped walking as he was approaching the bedroom door, deep in thought, why had Brittany acted like that last night and was she still angry.

"What's wrong Alvin?" Simon asked him, as he approached the door. "Worried about Brittany?"

"I hope she's not still angry," Alvin reasoned.

"It's best not to get in her way when she's angry." Simon agreed.

"I'll go." Theodore volunteered, walking past the two of them. He entered the living area where Dave was waking up on the couch; Theodore hopped up onto the back of the couch.

"Morning Dave," Theodore said.

"Oh. Morning Theodore." Dave said, surprised to see him stood on the back of the couch. "Are the others up yet?"

"Alvin and Simon are, but I don't know if the girls are yet." Theodore answered as he looked across at Dave's bedroom door. Alvin and Simon's heads were peering around the edge of the door, checking if Brittany was about. Theodore waved at them happily; Alvin and Simon looked at each other.

"I think the coast is clear." Simon said, assuming that Theodore was signalling them in. The two approached cautiously and joined Theodore on the back of the couch.

"What was all that about?" Dave asked slightly intrigued by their strange behaviour.

"You know how grumpy Brittany can get in a morning," Simon explained, keeping his voice down, "And after last night."

"I see, you don't want to start another argument," Dave said, "Good plan. I'm going to get dressed, you guys start breakfast, and I'll be back in a minute." Dave walked to his bedroom door and closed it behind him, leaving just the three of them.

"We better get breakfast," Simon said, "Before Brittany wakes up."

"I'm so hungry." Theodore said rubbing his stomach.

The three of them made their way to the kitchen and scoured the cupboards for food. At that moment the door to the bedroom opened, Alvin froze, they were too late. Jeanette emerged from the bedroom and closed the door behind her, to their relief there was only her and no Brittany. Simon left the breakfast cupboard search and jumped over to Jeanette.

"Is Brittany up?" He asked.

"Not yet," Jeanette replied, "She was not in a good mood last night."

"You can't blame her really," Simon said, "Alvin has been neglecting her a lot."

"I think she's overreacting, Alvin hasn't done anything wrong." Jeanette reasoned.

"What about the voting?" Simon replied.

"That wasn't really his fault, it was just a misunderstanding." Jeanette explained, sticking up for Alvin.

Simon was gobsmacked; he just stared at her wondering why she thought that Alvin wasn't to blame. In his opinion, Alvin was always the source of any problem that arose.

"Why are you sticking up for Alvin?" Simon asked, confused at Jeanette's reasons for siding with Alvin.

"Why do you think its Alvin's fault?" Jeanette asked in response to Simon's question.

By now the conversation was loud enough to be heard by Alvin and Theodore. Alvin turned and looked at Simon and Jeanette, mainly interested in Jeanette siding with him, when everyone usually blamed him for mishaps and problems.

"Never mind." Simon said. This was probably because Jeanette had answered a fair point, and Simon didn't want to argue with her.

The four of them were now looking for breakfast, when the door to the bedroom opened again; Eleanor emerged and quietly closed the door behind her. Theodore bounded over to her, happy to see that she could join them for breakfast.

"Morning," He greeted cheerfully.

"Morning Theo," she replied, "How did you sleep?"

"Good, Dave's bed is comfy," Theodore replied.

"It is. I missed sleeping on it last night." Dave interrupted sounding slightly annoyed, as he entered the room wearing his more formal clothes.

"Sorry Dave." Theodore said apologising for Dave having to sleep on the couch.

"It's not your fault Theo," Simon reassured, "its Alvin's." He looked across at Alvin with a disappointed glare.

"And Brittany's." Jeanette added. This resulted in a look of curiosity on Simon's face, as he was confused as to why she was blaming her sister rather than Alvin.

"It doesn't matter who's to blame," Dave assured, "Let's get breakfast, we have to be at school by ten."

It was now 8:30am, not leaving them much time to prepare. Dave rushed around the kitchen and got everyone some breakfast, Brittany appeared at the entrance to the kitchen.

"Good morning Brittany," Dave said, "Want some breakfast?"

Brittany did not look happy; she had a frown on her face as she looked up at Dave.

"Yes please." She replied, sounding slightly more cheerful than she looked, which wasn't much.

She jumped up onto the counter and joined the others, keeping a noticeable distance away from Alvin and avoiding eye contact. Alvin knew Brittany well enough to see that she was trying to get his attention by ignoring him. It was a strange way to get someone's attention, but it was working on Alvin, the rest of them noticed him glancing across at Brittany as she completely ignored him.

9:45 a.m., they all arrived at the school gymnasium for the publicity event. There were at least twenty journalists sat on rows of seats in front of a stage, waiting for the interview at around 10:30a.m. But first they had their photo shoot, there was a small set with props and backgrounds set up at the opposite end of the gymnasium. Dave walked through a door near the entrance to the gymnasium.

"Come on guys," Dave said. They followed him wondering where they were going. "I've got something for you." He added.

Upon entering the room, they found that it was a changing room, probably for staff as it was fairly small. Dave opened his briefcase, which he always carried around with him when at work, and got out six small outfits.

"These are what you're going to wear for the photo shoot." Dave announced as he handed each one of them their own specially designed sports top.

"Where did you find the time to get these for us?" Simon asked, amazed at the quality of the clothing.

"They're great." Eleanor said admiring her sports shirt.

"Thanks Dave," Theodore said appreciatively.

"Well, you all need to look the part now that the competition is being publicised." Dave explained modestly, "So I thought you could build up some more rep of your own at the same time."

The six of them all changed into their personally designed sportswear and prepared for the photo shoot.

"You all look great," Dave said, "Are you all set?"

"I'm so excited," Jeanette said.

"Me too." Eleanor added.

"Then let's go," Dave said, directing them all to the door leading to the gymnasium. "Alvin, you wait a minute," Dave said stopping him. "You too Brittany."

Brittany looked up at him with a puzzled expression on her face, she knew very well that it was about the falling out she had with Alvin.

"Now you two, I don't know what has been going on between you," Dave started.

"Absolutely nothing has." Brittany interrupted, hinting at Alvin's lack of attention towards her as if she was invisible.

"But I don't want it getting in the way of this event today." Dave continued, warning the two of them. "So try not to let it affect the publicity, okay?"

"You got it Dave," Alvin assured.

"Okay." Brittany replied reluctantly.

"Good, let's go," Dave said.

The three of them emerged into the gymnasium and headed for the rest of the team, who were at the photo shoot set.

"I hope Dave sorted Alvin out," Simon said, "We don't want him ruining the publicity."

"Is Alvin okay?" Eleanor asked, "How is he handling it?"

"Alvin's fine," Simon replied, "I feel sorry for Britt having to put up with him."

"Brittany isn't too easy to please, you know," Jeanette said, "She expects too much from Alvin."

"She does rely a lot on him." Eleanor agreed.

"I warned Alvin about neglecting her, but he didn't listen." Simon said.

"He was trying." Theodore reasoned.

"Yes, like at the fast food restaurant the other day," Jeanette added. "He made Britt happy and they were close."

Simon thought about this for a moment, but couldn't shake the blame from Alvin.

"That was just Alvin wanting to kiss her," Simon explained, "It was for himself, not for her."

"I think Britt is overreacting," Eleanor suggested, "She goes to pieces over nothing, sometimes."

"Alvin has been kinder lately." Theodore added.

"It was for his own gain, to avoid being pit against the jocks on his own." Simon protested.

"He didn't choose for us all to be involved, he did it while protecting Brittany." Jeanette defended.

"You really are set on defending Alvin." Simon said, quizzing her to see her reaction.

"I just think its Britt's fault as well." Jeanette responded.

"I think they should apologise and be friends again." Theodore said.

"I don't like seeing them fight like this." Added Eleanor, as she looked across the hall and spotted them approaching. Alvin was still looking to Brittany, as she remained set on avoiding eye contact.

"I'll have a talk with Alvin later." Simon said.

"I'll talk to Brittany as well, we'll sort it out." Jeanette reassured.

Dave got to the set and gave the go-ahead to start the photo shoot.

"Theodore, Eleanor, do you two want to go first?" Dave asked.

"Okay." Eleanor replied happily.

The two of them jumped up onto the set for their photo shoot. They were both wearing T-shirts of similar green colours, with bands of glittery looking material down the sides, and their initial on the shoulders. Their shirts were matching styles, which is why Dave had sent them up for the photo shoot together.

Simon and Jeanette were up next for their photo shoot, as with Theodore and Eleanor, their clothes had matching styles as well. They had blazers that were blue for Simon and purple for Jeanette, with white sleeves and their initial on the shoulders and the chest, small and offset to the right.

Dave had left Alvin and Brittany until last to let them cool off and prepare for the photo shoot. He didn't want a big performance over their relationship, this would probably jeopardise the whole publicity event. For the moment Alvin and Brittany looked fairly relaxed, but they were not making eye contact with each other. Alvin had his head lowered, while Brittany was making sure that she was looking in the opposite direction of Alvin.

It was now their turn and Dave had his fingers crossed that they would behave, put their differences behind them and above all act professional. Again, the styles of their clothes matched, but were different colours respectively. They were wearing sleeveless shirts; red for Alvin and pink for Brittany, with glittery seems on only Brittany's. Each shirt had their initial, large on the front, in a similar style to Alvin's hoody. The two of them went on the set and did the photo shoot without any problems, acting as professional as Dave had hoped.

"Well done," Dave congratulated, "The photo shoots looked great."

"It was fun." Eleanor added.

"Okay, we have the interview in five minutes, so I'll let you all prepare." Dave explained. He walked off to collect his briefcase from the changing room, and to collect the spare clothes.

Simon went over to Alvin and took him away from the others to have a chat.

"Any luck figuring out what's wrong?" Simon asked.

"No, she doesn't want to know me anymore." Alvin replied with a sound of desperation in his voice.

"I think you should try to get back onto talking terms with her." Simon suggested. "Try and talk to her, maybe we'll be able to work out what the problem is."

"Good idea, thanks Si." Alvin replied appreciatively, as he turned away and walked back to the others.

At the same time that Alvin and Simon were having a chat, Jeanette took Brittany aside and tried to get to the bottom of the problem she had with Alvin.

"Britt, please tell me what's wrong." Jeanette pleaded, "Elle and I are getting worried about you acting strange. We want to help you."

Brittany looked at her sister for a moment, seeing the concern on Jeanette's face made her consider what she was doing.

"I'm really angry at Alvin." Brittany said.

"Why?" Jeanette asked.

"He doesn't care, it's like I'm invisible." Brittany continued.

"So you are going to do the same to him?" Jeanette replied. "Is that it?"

Brittany nodded her head with conviction, looking at her sister with a serious expression on her face.

"Don't you think you're being a bit harsh on Alvin?" Jeanette asked. "He is already missing you, and I bet he's sorry for what he's done."

"Don't try and patch things up between us by acting as peace makers," Brittany said sternly, "Alvin doesn't care."

"At least make eye contact with him." Jeanette insisted. "Dave is getting annoyed with this whole ordeal.

"Fine." Brittany replied reluctantly, before returning to the rest of the group, just as Alvin was returning with Simon.

They all stood in an awkward silence waiting for someone to make a move or say something. Thankfully Dave returned, breaking up the scene that was developing.

"Let's go." Dave said, leading the way to the interviewing area, where a small crowd of journalists and reporters had gathered. As the six of them walked to the interview, Alvin hung back and tried to walk with Brittany.

"Britt?" Alvin asked in a caring manner. Brittany turned her head to look at him, purely to see what he wanted, not that she cared. "I'm sorry." He apologised.

At hearing this, Brittany stuck her nose up and walked off ahead of Alvin. His heart sank, she wouldn't even hear him out, he was truly sorry for once and she didn't want to know.

Dave organised everyone into the correct seats for the interview, he was sat in the centre, with the chipmunks to his right and the chipettes to his left. Alvin and Brittany were sat closest to Dave, then Simon and Jeanette, and Theodore and Eleanor at either end. Dave looked across at the six of them as he composed himself, before addressing the media.

"Welcome everyone," Dave began, "As you know, the chipmunks and chipettes are competing in a competition at West Eastman High School. This is purely to help the school with funding and publicity, ultimately keeping the school's various programs in action. The competition will be taking place in the coming weeks, and the public are encouraged to attend, as all the proceeds will go to the school. All of the chipmunks and chipettes will be competing in the contest, and they will also be performing together in our next tour. So if you have any questions, we will try and answer as many as possible in the allotted time, thank you."

This was a professional and polished performance by Dave, keeping everything precise and under control. The reporters and journalists began to raise hands, wanting to ask questions. Dave pointed at one of them to allow them to ask a question.

"How did the competition come about?" The journalist asked.

"Well, Alvin and Brittany should be able to answer this one better than me, they proposed it." Dave explained.

"It was organised when we were confronted by a bully called Ryan. I challenge him and he accepted." Alvin explained.

"Little did the rest of the team know, Alvin had carelessly volunteered us all." Brittany added, making the point that Alvin hadn't thought about the rest of them.

"Okay, next question." Dave concluded, pointing to a man in a brown hat.

"What is the format of the competition, and what events are there going to be?" he asked.

"The competition is going to be six rounds, and the events have been voted for and will be announced at the school on Monday." Dave explained. He signalled to a woman in the audience with blonde hair, to ask the next question.

"Who's going to be the team captain?" She asked.

"We haven't really thought about it to be honest." Dave replied. Alvin coughed loudly, he obviously fancied himself as team captain.

"Alvin would be the main candidate," Dave said, "He started the challenge in the first place."

Another reporter raised his hand and Dave gave him the go ahead to ask his question.

"How do you all feel about the challenges and do you think that Alvin should be the team captain?" He asked, giving all six of them a chance to voice their opinion. Dave let Theodore answer first.

"I think the challenges could be fun, at first it was worrying but we can all work as a team." Theodore said. "Alvin has always been the leader, so it's okay."

Eleanor was up next.

"The competition will help us all bond together as a team, and as long as we do that we can win." Eleanor said, "I think Alvin will make a good captain, Theo thinks so, so I do too."

Dave let Simon answer the question next.

"The challenges will be...well...challenging, the mixture of events will keep us all on our toes, and the team will focus on playing to strengths and covering weaknesses." Simon evaluated, "As for Alvin being captain, if he gets his act together he can do it."

Jeanette was up next.

"The competition will be a great experience for the six of us, facing the challenges together will be fun in the long-term, if we win." Jeanette summarised. "Alvin is capable of being captain, and can do a good job by using his leadership skills."

On hearing this Brittany laughed, just enough that some of the reporters heard her.

"Okay Brittany what do you think?" Dave said, putting her in the spotlight, as it sounded as if she wanted to voice her opinion.

"The competition was really forced on us, we'll cope but it'll be tough." Brittany said. "I'm not too sure about Alvin being team captain; I don't think he has the man management and teamwork skills required for the position." She was blunt and straight to the point, making it clear that she did not think Alvin could pay enough attention to the team, and her.

It was clear to the reporters; Brittany was not confident in Alvin's abilities and didn't think that he was up to the task.

"We haven't decided who the team captain is yet, but it will be sorted out in due time." Dave reiterated, he signalled for another question.

"It sounds like you don't have much confidence in Alvin's leadership, is there any reason for this?" The journalist asked Brittany.

"Well...Alvin and I haven't been seeing eye to eye lately, so I suppose he wouldn't be too good at communicating with his teammates." Brittany explained.

"I've tried, but you keep ignoring me." Alvin defended.

"Then you should have paid more attention in the first place." Brittany responded.

"Calm down you two," Dave interrupted.

"There seems like there is tension between the two of you, how is your relationship?" A reporter in the front row asked, without Dave's permission.

"What relationship?" Brittany asked sarcastically, "It's practically non-existent."

"It wasn't the other night." Alvin replied, hinting at the episode at the restaurant with the milkshake.

"One night of caring doesn't make up for weeks of neglect." Brittany stated firmly.

"Stop it you two!" Dave interrupted angrily. "Keep your personal lives out of this."

By this point the reporters and journalists were scribbling in their notepads and watching Alvin and Brittany intensely.

"The interview is over, that is all the time we have." Dave said as he ushered the six of them off stage and into the changing room, away from the press.

The interview had turned into a spectacle, just a slanging match between Alvin and Brittany, overshadowing the main focus of the publicity event. Dave was not happy, and Dr Rubin wouldn't be very pleased either. The two of them had hoped to use the competition as publicity, but Alvin and Brittany's relationship issues had shot the idea down in flames.

Even worse, the press had seen the whole incident and were sure to document it, putting added pressure on the relationship between the two of them.

For the rest of the day Alvin and Brittany stayed the furthest possible distance away from each other, and Dave. Dave was in a seriously bad mood and locked himself away in the music room. Attempting to undo all the damage caused by Alvin and Brittany's public display at the interview.

* * *

**Alvin and Brittany have done it this time, Dave is really angry, they better keep out of his way.**

**I would love to hear what you all think of the story so far. Please Review, it would help me push on with the plot. Thanks for reading :)**


	10. Day Out

**The interview was a disaster, Dave is going to have to come up with something to solve the publicity problem.**

* * *

The next day, Sunday, Dave had cooled down but was still annoyed. The three chipmunks and three chipettes were up and eating breakfast at the table with him. He had a stack of newspapers, which he had been out earlier and bought, and was scanning through them with a frown on his face.

Alvin and Brittany looked at each other from opposite ends of the table; Alvin had a concerned look on his face. Brittany stared at him for a few seconds before realising; she quickly looked back at Dave to judge his reaction to the tabloids.

Dave gazed at one of the newspapers before sighing in despair; he dropped it in the centre of the table deliberately, so the six of them could see the page. Theodore and Eleanor were too busy eating their breakfast to read the page, but Simon and Jeanette scanned over the page before looking at Alvin and Brittany. Their faces were full of disapproval and disappointment, seeing this, Alvin and Brittany both looked at the page of the newspaper, with the headline catching their eyes. 'Chipmunk Relationship on the Rocks', the two of them dropped their heads identically at reading it. They knew that they had done what Dave had told them not to do; involve their personal lives and issues in the publicity event. This had not only jeopardised the competition and school's publicity, but also thrown their relationship issues out into the open, adding pressure to an already fragile friendship.

"I told you two." Dave said. "I warned you not to let personal matters get in the way."

"Sorry Dave." Alvin apologised, trying to worm his way out of being yelled at.

"Sorry isn't going to get rid of your bad publicity." Dave said becoming visibly frustrated. "I try to help boost publicity for the school, and you steal the spotlight and turn it into a big waste of time."

"It was Brittany as well." Alvin reasoned, attempting to shift some of the blame from himself.

"I don't care," Dave replied. "It has been done, and you two are the main attractions, plastered all over the newspapers."

Dave opened the newspapers to the pages with the two of them on, and covered half the table with them, showing them how serious it had become.

"This personal issue has overshadowed the competition, and our tour of England." Dave stated.

The six of them all sat in silence looking sorry for themselves, even Theodore and Eleanor had stopped eating their toaster waffles. Dave wanted to vent his anger but knew that only Alvin and Brittany were to blame, and he would only upset the others.

"I need some time alone today," Dave explained, calming himself down. "So I've called Julie and Toby, and they've agreed to take you out for the day."

"But it's a Sunday." Alvin protested. The angry look on Dave's face answered his disagreement, he knew that Dave was fuming; it was a bad idea to argue.

"They should be round at ten to pick you all up." Dave said looking at the clock, "You have an hour to get ready."

Dave got up from the table, grabbed the newspapers and took them away to the music room.

"You two are in deep trouble," Simon said, focussing more on Alvin than Brittany.

"I don't like seeing Dave mad." Theodore said nervously as he looked in the direction of the music room.

"You two should have had more sense," Eleanor said.

"The public didn't need to know about your private lives." Jeanette reasoned.

"Why didn't you keep this grudge match between yourselves until after the interview?" Simon asked.

"Brittany started it by doubting my leadership skills." Alvin argued.

Simon rolled his eyes, mainly at the fact that Alvin was trying to blame someone else as usual.

"I was merely voicing my opinion." Brittany replied innocently.

"I would have to agree with Britt on this one, your leadership skills aren't up to much at the moment." Simon argued. "You're going to tear this team apart instead of pulling us all together."

"I think it was wrong to voice the negative comments in front of the press." Jeanette reasoned, "We could have kept it private and sorted it out between ourselves."

"If these issues hadn't occurred in the first place, we wouldn't have had this problem." Simon replied.

"We should just work as a team and put this all behind us." Eleanor reasoned.

"That's easy for you to say," Brittany answered, "You aren't the one in the newspapers." She scowled at Alvin, and then left the table to get ready for their day out with Toby and Julie.

"I just want us all to be a team again," Eleanor said slightly upset by her sister's snappy mood.

"We'll fix it." Theodore assured, trying to make Eleanor feel better. He looked across at Simon for some encouragement, but instead Simon was looking across at Alvin, who was staring down at his feet.

"We better get ready for our day out." Jeanette said changing the subject. Jeanette, Eleanor, Simon and Theodore left the table and went to the bedroom, leaving Alvin lonely by himself pondering his predicament.

Half an hour passed and then the door bell rang, Dave went to answer it while the chipmunks and chipettes made their way to the living room. Toby and Julie were at the door, ready to meet the six of them as they entered the room. Toby is Dave's cousin who looked after the chipmunks in his absence. Julie is a teacher at their school, Ms Ortega, and Toby's girlfriend.

The six of them approached the door to greet Toby and Julie. The chipmunks knew the two of them well, but the chipettes only knew Ms Ortega from school.

"Hi guys," Julie said seeing them approach.

"Hi Ms Ortega," Eleanor greeted politely.

"Call me Julie." She said smiling. "This is my boyfriend Toby."

"Nice to meet you," Toby greeted, trying to act cool as usual.

"Nice to meet you too," Jeanette replied likewise.

"So where are we going today?" Simon asked.

"It's a surprise." Julie said.

"I love surprises," Theodore said, becoming excited.

"Let's get going," Toby said, seeing the impatient look on Dave's face. He walked over to the car and opened the doors for them all, prompting them to get in.

Julie walked with the six of them to the car and then made sure that they were all buckled up properly, before getting in the passenger seat.

"Try and take it easy, okay Toby." Julie reminded, not wanting him to drive in his usual erratic style.

"Okay." Toby replied as he started the car. They set off on their journey; it was a warm and sunny day, perfect for a family outing.

"How have you two been getting on lately?" Simon asked.

"Great." Toby replied.

"It's been great fun with Toby." Julie added.

"Are you still living with Aunt Jackie?" Theodore asked, hoping that there might have been a chance for him to acquire some popcorn.

"No. I moved out." Toby answered.

"Toby's moved in with me." Julie added.

"You were right about everything working out," Simon said, referring to the escapades at the school music competition they competed in several months ago.

"How have you been getting on?" Julie asked the six of them.

"It's been amazing." Eleanor said.

"Actually moving in with the Chipmunks was like a dream come true." Jeanette added.

"With the chipettes moving in, our lives have been a lot more fun." Simon said.

"They brighten up our days." Theodore added.

"Awe, it sounds like you all get along great." Julie replied.

"Well, almost all of us." Simon said.

"I saw the papers this morning, and I didn't know whether to believe them or not." Julie explained. "That's why you two have been so quiet this morning."

Alvin looked up at Julie with a sad expression on his face, before looking across at Brittany to see her reaction to the comment. She entirely ignored it and continued looking up through the window at the clear blue sky. Alvin looked back at Julie before lowering his head in a despairing fashion.

"Where is this 'surprise' day out taking us?" Simon enquired, changing the subject to prevent any further damage being done.

"We thought that we'd take you to the zoo." Julie said.

"I love the zoo." Theodore said.

"Me too." Eleanor agreed.

"Don't go near the birds of prey this time." Toby reminded, hinting at the episode they had at the zoo, when Theodore ran away from home.

"Don't worry, we won't." Simon assured.

"What happened last time you went?" Julie asked Toby and the chipmunks.

"It happened way back when the school music contest between us and the chipettes was taking place." Simon explained. "Alvin didn't turn up for the sing-off, because he was at a football game with the jocks."

"I couldn't find Alvin anywhere." Toby added. Brittany rolled her eyes at hearing this, Julie noticed this and knew that there was bothering her.

"Alvin didn't turn up so we lost the sing-off." Simon continued.

"We felt so bad for beating you by default." Jeanette said.

"The next morning, Theo ran away from home and left a note on the fridge door. We tracked him to the 'Birds of Prey' enclosure at the zoo."

"What happened?" Eleanor asked, concerned at the prospect of Theodore being in danger.

"Alvin rescued Theo, and we all ran from the area." Simon explained. Alvin managed a smile at hearing this.

"Theo saved me." Alvin replied modestly.

"We worked as a team," Theodore said smiling happily.

"So we need to stay away from the birds." Toby reiterated.

"Definitely." Julie agreed.

They arrived at the zoo and paid the admission fee.

"We should split up," Simon suggested to Julie, quietly. "It would be best to keep Alvin and Brittany apart."

"Okay," Julie agreed. "So girls, you want to come with me?" The chipettes walked over and joined Julie.

"I guess you guys are with me," Toby said looking down at the three of them. "Just like old times."

"We'll meet back here at three," Julie said, as she lead the chipettes away, Toby walked with the chipmunks in the opposite direction.

"I can guess where we are going first." Simon said.

"Where?" Toby asked curiously.

"The meerkats of course." Simon replied.

They went to the meerkat enclosure, to Theodore's delight, and watched for a while.

"You've been quiet today Alvin." Toby said, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I guess." Alvin replied looking glum.

"I can see that you miss Brittany's company." Toby added. "Seeing the papers this morning, I guess you two are having problems."

"Brittany is angry with me and I'm not sure why." Alvin explained. "And every time I try to talk to her, she ignores me."

"That's harsh." Toby agreed.

Simon and Theodore were busy watching the meerkats together, Theodore was fascinated by the family bond they shared, while Simon was explaining something to him.

"I may not be the best guy to give advice," Toby said, "But I tried to do something caring and special, singing on the school stage for Julie, and it worked for me."

Alvin dwelled on this idea for a moment, maybe it would work, Brittany wanted him to treat her nicer more often, and maybe this would be the first step.

"It's worth a try." Alvin replied.

Simon and Theodore returned, they had finished watching the meerkats.

"Phew, it's hot. Wanna go get some ice cream?" Toby suggested.

"Yes please." Theodore replied. They all went for ice cream to cool off from the hot weather.

Meanwhile, with the girls, Jeanette and Eleanor were watching some butterflies, Brittany was trailing along behind. Julie noticed that she was acting a bit down and was not saying much.

"Brittany? Are you okay?" Julie asked.

"I'm fine." She replied trying to hide the fact that she was starting to miss Alvin's company.

"You don't look fine. I know that you're thinking about Alvin." Julie said, reading Brittany like a map.

"He doesn't think about me, so why should I think about him." Brittany replied.

"Two wrongs do not make a right." Julie summarised. "Besides, from the way Alvin has been acting today, I think that he's feeling sorry and wants to apologise."

"Why would he?" Brittany asked.

"Because he loves you." She replied.

"He never shows it." Brittany said.

You don't realise how much you will miss something until it is gone." Julie reasoned. "Alvin has taken your relationship for granted but now misses you, he hasn't realised it until now."

"Well, he should have taken care of me better." Brittany responded stubbornly.

"You should at least hear him out, to see how sorry he is." Julie suggested.

"If he did apologise, at least it would show that he misses me." Brittany said considering the prospect of Alvin admitting that he was wrong. "If you think that it's a good idea, then I'll give him a chance."

At 3:00pm they all met up at the exit to the zoo, and made their way back home. The day had been fun for all, except Alvin and Brittany, who were feeling downtrodden but had received some helpful advice from Toby and Julie. They were now beginning to understand the feelings of one another and were getting closer to resolving the situation. Maybe Dave had more than just a fun day out in mind when he sent them off with Toby and Julie, the two of them had been very supportive.

Upon returning home, Dave was in a happier mood, welcoming them home and bidding farewell to Toby and Julie, with the others.

"So how was your day out?" Dave asked.

"It was so much fun; we got to see the meerkats." Theodore said happily.

"We should go out with Julie and Toby more often." Eleanor added.

Dave, half expecting Julie to have talked to Brittany, and Toby to have talked to Alvin, asked whether they were feeling any better. Brittany looked across at Alvin, who had his head lowered but was still looking back out of the corner of his eye. Alvin plucked up the courage and turned to Brittany.

"Brittany? I'm sorry for whatever it is I have done. I'm not sure what it is but I am sorry." Alvin apologised, sounding more genuine than he ever had before.

"You don't know what you have done?" Brittany replied, "'Whatever it is' you have done?"

"I am sorry." Alvin pleaded.

"You are insensitive; you have no idea why I'm upset when you are the one who has caused it. I thought that you had come to your senses, but I was wrong." Brittany raged, seething with anger.

"But Brittany, I..." Alvin began.

To the shock of Dave and the others, Brittany slapped Alvin round the face, out of blind rage.

"You don't have a clue! Whatever we had between us is done! We're finished! It's over!" Brittany yelled.

Alvin was in shock, being slapped by Brittany had left him stunned, not moving a muscle, watching the disaster unfold before his very eyes. Brittany's reaction was unexpected, and Alvin was speechless, he couldn't think of anything else to do, solid as a statue, watching Brittany storm off to the bedroom and lock herself in. The others were as shocked as he was, they didn't expect Brittany to snap like that, and didn't think that she would take such a drastic step.

Their relationship had crumbled in front of their on-looking family, and the team was falling apart with every passing day.

* * *

**It pained me to write the ending; Alvin and Brittany can't break up, the team are counting on them.**

**Thanks for the reviews.**

**And thanks for reading.**


	11. Stirred by the Competition

**Alvin's first day seperated from Brittany, how will he cope? I feel sorry for him.**

* * *

Alvin and Brittany entered the school keeping a low profile, and for good reason. The two of them had separated and the newspapers had put their friendship under speculation. Keeping their heads down and staying out of trouble would be the best thing to do. After all, Dave was not too pleased and Dr Rubin would be annoyed with the results of the publicity event.

"Oh boy, this day is gonna be tough." Dave said to himself.

"Don't worry Dave; everything will work out...ish." Theodore encouraged, slightly doubting it himself.

"I'll see you all later," Dave said, leaving them all at the lockers as he headed for Dr Rubin's office.

Alvin got to his locker and opened it in a downtrodden manner, glancing around to see if anyone was looking at him. Taking his school stuff from the locker, he looked across at Brittany, before walking off slowly down the hall. Brittany was just as precarious, looking to see if anyone was staring at her, oblivious to Alvin looking at her. She got out her stuff from her locker and briskly headed for her first class.

Simon looked at the two of them as they left for class, noticing that people were looking at each of them as they passed by.

"Things aren't going to get any easier." Simon said.

"I still can't believe what has happened." Eleanor added.

"What about our team?" Theodore asked.

"There's still a whole week before the competition." Jeanette replied. "There's time to work it all out."

"I hope you're right." Simon said.

The four of them parted ways and went to their classes, concerned for the welfare of Alvin and Brittany after their big break-up. The team needs to be salvaged before the competition, and with morale at an all-time low, Simon and Jeanette will be relied on to solve the problem.

At lunch, Simon and Theodore joined Jeanette and Eleanor at their table.

"Where's Alvin?" Theodore asked.

"And Brittany?" Simon asked.

As an answer, Jeanette pointed to the left of their table, and Eleanor pointed to the right. Simon looked in the direction Jeanette had pointed, to see Alvin sat alone at a table eating his lunch with his back to them. Theodore looked in the opposite direction, Eleanor had pointed to a lonely Brittany, eating lunch on a table by herself, also with her back turned to them.

"This is now becoming ridiculous." Simon stated.

"Why did they have to break up?" Theodore asked, disappointed at their lack of family togetherness.

"They just need some time alone." Eleanor reassured.

"Alvin must have done something pretty bad to provoke a reaction from Brittany of that magnitude." Simon concluded.

"Brittany is just attention seeking." Jeanette said.

"That's hard to believe, breaking up is a lot of trouble to go to for some attention." Simon replied, "Alvin didn't help the situation last night by confronting her."

"You know Simon; you have been really harsh on Alvin this past week." Jeanette criticised, picking up on the lack of brotherly love he had displayed. Simon was shocked by Jeanette voicing her opinion, as were Theodore and Eleanor. "You should have supported him and helped through this mess, in his time of need."

"You didn't help Brittany any, she's the one who has suffered, why weren't you supporting her?" Simon responded, angry at the fact that Jeanette had plucked up the courage and pointed out his faults.

"Because I was trying to support Alvin, like you were supposed to be doing." Jeanette answered back.

"Please don't fight." Theodore said nervously, attempting to prevent the argument from escalating.

"If it'll stop you complaining, I'll go and talk to Alvin." Simon said.

"You won't help him any, you are always harsh with him." Jeanette protested. "I'll talk to him."

"Fine, if I'm too 'harsh', then you try and solve all this of this mess by yourself." Simon answered stubbornly.

"You aren't helping anyway." Jeanette pointed out as she walked away from the table, slightly annoyed at Simon's attitude towards her concern for Alvin's feeling's. She only thought that Simon was not supporting him, and voiced her opinion on the matter.

Simon in-turn took his lunch and went into the cafeteria to dispose of it. Theodore looked at Eleanor with his bottom lip quivering, he didn't want them all to split up, it was one of his worst nightmares. Eleanor knew that Theodore was upset, she was as well, she caringly put any arm around him to comfort him.

"Don't worry Theo," Eleanor reassured, "We'll never split up, I promise."

Jeanette joined Alvin for lunch to try and cheer him up, and to get to the bottom of Brittany's problem with him.

"Hi Alvin." She greeted, hoping that her good mood would be infectious. Alvin just looked up at her and forced a smile.

"I thought I'd keep you company," Jeanette explained, Alvin continued to sit in silence.

"I believe that you weren't entirely to blame for the break up between the two of you." Jeanette added, this got Alvin's attention, he looked at her curiously. "I mean, you did provoke her," Jeanette reasoned, wriggling her way out of the situation. "But Brittany did overreact."

"Thanks," Alvin replied, "I'm glad that someone understands me."

Alvin felt a little better for knowing that he was not alone, Jeanette was there to help him. They continued to eat lunch together, Alvin predictably keeping an eye on Brittany to see how she was getting on.

Brittany was looking slightly sad as she sat eating her lunch alone, but she was the one who had thrust this predicament upon herself. Someone walked up to the table where she was sitting, Brittany looked up to see one of the members of the jock team, it was Jeremy.

"What do you want?" Brittany asked in an uncaring tone.

"I was just wondering whether you wanted some company." Jeremy replied. Brittany said nothing, she was lonely, but Jeremy was part of the jock team that they were competing against, could she trust him?"

"You looked lonely and kind of upset." Jeremy continued. Brittany looked up at him with an unconvinced look across her face.

"I've seen the newspapers, you and Alvin aren't getting along, I thought that maybe you would want to talk to someone." Jeremy continued, sitting down at the table.

"Well, it would be nice to talk to someone." Brittany admitted. "Alvin and I have broken up, we had a big argument."

Seeing Brittany talking to Jeremy sunk Alvin's heart, she had taken a shine to him so quickly, and she wouldn't even attempt to talk to Alvin. Jeanette noticed Brittany and Jeremy, and looked back at Alvin to see his head lowering again, spiralling into a pit of despair. She knew that she was Alvin's only lifeline, no one else would hear him out, it was up to her to help him.

"Ignore them Alvin, Brittany's just doing it for attention," Jeanette assured. "Besides, she'll be missing you as much as you miss her."

"She won't miss me; she can be with anyone she wants, like Jeremy." Alvin said sulking at the prospect of Jeremy snatching her away.

"Of course she will," Jeanette encouraged, "I know for a fact that she loves you for your personality."

Alvin gazed over at the two of them chatting away over their lunches, getting along just fine.

"She could just go out with Jeremy for his personality, he's smarter." Alvin replied, looking at them in despair.

"But you have other traits that he doesn't," Jeanette protested. "She liked you for who you are. Funny, charming, friendly and caring." Alvin cheered up at hearing this, he had become overwhelmed with trying to get Brittany to like him again, that he had forgotten that it was about who he was.

"You're right, it's about bettering myself, not making Britt like me." Alvin concluded.

"It's in the lyrics of your song, 'Acceptance'." Jeanette added.

"Did those complements about my personality come from Britt? Or you?" Alvin asked curiously.

Jeanette blushed, knowing that Brittany hadn't said any of those things and that she had just picked up on them herself. She was only trying to make him feel better, but may have gotten a little carried away.

"Thanks Jen, I feel a bit better now." Alvin replied. He looked across at Brittany and Jeremy again, to see what they were up to.

Jeremy got up from the table and collected his and Brittany's trays.

"I'll see you later then," He said walking away and waving to her.

Once again Alvin's heart sunk, 'see you later then' sounded like she was going to meet up with him again. If this was just for attention then she was really milking it, hopefully Jeanette was right, she usually was.

Later on in the day, the results of the voting were to be announced by Dr Rubin, in the assembly hall. Alvin and Jeanette met up with Simon, Theodore and Eleanor, Dave joined them shortly after, but there was no sign of Brittany.

"Where's Brittany?" Alvin asked.

"I haven't seen her." Dave replied.

"Don't worry yourself Alvin," Jeanette said, "She'll turn up."

Dr Rubin appeared on stage with an envelope in her hand.

"Settle down students," She began, "I have the results here and will now announce the event and amount of votes for each round." She opened the envelope and took out a piece of paper. "Round one. Four votes for football, eight votes for dodge ball. So dodge ball the first event of the competition." Dr Rubin announced. "Round two. Three votes for the math challenge, four votes for checkers, and five votes for chess. So round two's event will be chess. Next, round three. Three votes for darts, four votes for Go-karts, and five votes for video games. Video games will be the event for round three. Next, round four. Two votes for basketball, four votes for soccer, and six votes for running. Round four will be the running. Next, round five. There was one vote for the spelling-B, five votes for backgammon, and six votes for countdown. The fifth event will be countdown. Finally, round six. There was one vote for the drawing contest, five votes for the poker tournament and six votes for the cooking contest. So the cooking contest will be the sixth and final event of the competition. That concludes the voting results, and the first event, dodgeball, will take place on Monday, exactly one week from now. Further information will be posted around the school in the near future. Thank you."

"That's great; the voting was just as we had hoped for." Eleanor said.

"We get to cook." Theodore added.

"Now all we need to do is organise the team." Simon reminded.

Alvin was too busy scanning the room for Brittany, to notice Simon's glare after mentioning the word team with emphasis.

"Well we need to find Brittany, it's almost three." Dave said to the others as he gazed at his watch.

Alvin was still not paying attention; he had other thoughts occupying his mind, still looking around the room for Brittany, using the back of his chair as a vantage point. The others all looked at Alvin to see his reaction, to Dave mentioning finding Brittany. He suddenly stopped, staring in the direction of the exit, his ears dropped and his entire body posture slumped. The others stared at Alvin for a few seconds, before checking out what he was looking at. Brittany was stood with Jeremy next to the door to the hallway, they were chatting happily, getting along as if they were best friends.

All the attention was now focussed on Alvin, who looked as if he was about to slump to the ground.

"She's just doing it for attention." Jeanette reassured. "Don't worry yourself about it." At hearing this, Simon rolled his eyes, she noticed him and frowned back.

Alvin was depressed by the sight of Brittany and Jeremy, he knew he was fighting a losing battle and felt like giving in. But Jeanette was so insistent that it was all a big cry out for attention, he really wanted to believe this, but deep down inside he knew that he was just clutching at straws.

Alvin was feeling so low at this moment; it was as if all the love had leapt from his life.

* * *

**Jeremy is getting involved in the situation, is he doing it on purpose?**

**Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated.**


	12. Misunderstandings

**Thanks for all the reviews; they've really helped me assess the story and are spurring me on.**

**Simon and Jeanette don't seem to be getting along. With Jeremy getting involved in Alvin and Brittany's relationship issues, it can only get tougher for the six of them.**

* * *

School had ended for the day, the assembly was a success for the team; they had gotten the events that they had all voted for. But the assembly was accompanied by an unwelcome sight for Alvin; Brittany was becoming close friends with Jeremy, and this was almost heartbreaking to see.

On arriving home, Alvin headed for the bedroom and closed the door behind him for privacy. The others saw this and had mixed emotions on the matter. Brittany was completely unsympathetic as she walked into the living room to watch television. Theodore and Eleanor looked concerned as usual, as they stood with Simon and Jeanette in the hallway near the front door.

"Poor Alvin." Jeanette said.

"I hope he's okay." Eleanor added.

"He'll be okay," Simon said, "This is Alvin we're talking about."

"But he's never been this upset before." Theodore reasoned.

"I'll go and see if he's okay in there." Jeanette decided.

"Thanks Jeanette." Theodore said, relieved that _someone _was trying to keep the situation under control.

Jeanette knocked on the bedroom door, before entering and closing it behind her. Looking around the room appeared empty, but she had a hunch that Alvin would be sat on his bed. Jeanette climbed up the bunk beds and hopped onto Alvin's bed, and just as she had thought; he was lay down staring up at the ceiling. Jeanette's presence startled him, as she approached; he sat up to see what she wanted.

"Hi Alvin." Jeanette greeted friendly, sitting down next to him. He smiled back, happy to see that she was still on his side of the issue. "I came to see if you were okay, Theo and Elle are worried about you." She explained.

"I'm okay." Alvin replied looking and sounding deflated. She sat and looked at him for a second before replying.

"You definitely don't look okay." She analysed.

"I'm glad that somebody cares." Alvin said. "It's not like I deserve it though." He returned to his despairing mood, looking down at the bed, not wanting to make eye contact with Jeanette.

She was looking at him, concerned at his outbreak of depression that was beginning to set in. Jeanette knew that depression could be hard to shake off, from reading about it in a book, and didn't want Alvin to proceed into its spiral.

"Don't be so hard on yourself." She comforted.

Simon was not as sympathetic as Jeanette, and was not feeling much compassion for his older brother, after all Alvin was the one who started the whole ordeal. Theodore and Eleanor were determined to get him to help, they knew that Simon was their only chance of reuniting Alvin and Brittany, as Jeanette was already trying her best.

"We need Alvin and Brittany back together for the team." Theodore said.

"Jeremy is trying to outsmart us by luring Britt away from the team." Eleanor reasoned, attempting to pressure Simon into helping them. "I didn't think he was that smart, we won't stand a chance in the competition."

"He isn't that smart." Simon disagreed.

"Well he's breaking up our team," Theodore pointed out, "So he must be clever."

"I can see what you two are trying to do," Simon replied, "I don't want to be dragged into this mess."

Theodore and Eleanor stood looking at him with their sad faces on, after frowning at the two of them for a few seconds Simon gave in.

"Okay fine. I'll help, but I'm not doing it on my own." Simon reasoned. "We'll go talk to Brittany and find out why she's hanging around with Jeremy. Okay?"

The two of them nodded, putting on a smile of approval, Simon headed for Brittany in the living room. Theodore and Eleanor gave each other a high-five, while Simon wasn't looking, before heading for the living room as well.

The three of them sat on the sofa across from Brittany, who was sat on a chair happily watching television.

"Hi Brittany," Eleanor greeted as she made herself comfortable.

"Hi," Brittany replied, "What's up?"

"Nothing." Theodore said.

"I can tell that you three want something, because you are acting suspicious." Brittany explained.

"To tell you the truth," Simon confessed, "We were a little curious about you and Jeremy." Brittany frowned at the three of them.

"What of it?" She asked.

"Well, how come he's being friendly towards you all of a sudden?" Simon enquired.

"He just wanted to make sure that I was okay, unlike other people I know." Brittany answered, referring to Alvin.

"It seems as if Jeremy has had an eye on you ever since the break up. Don't you think it's more than a coincidence that this is happening right before the competition?" Simon interrogated.

"No. For your information; Jeremy is kind and caring, and he understands what I'm going through." Brittany replied with an air of frustration.

"Sorry Britt. We just wondered what was going on between you and Jeremy." Eleanor explained.

"It's okay, we're just friends, that's all." Brittany replied.

"It's just that he is on the jocks team, and he might be planning something." Theodore reasoned.

"Don't worry, he's just being friendly, he's not plotting anything." Brittany reassured, laughing off the thought of Jeremy trying to trick her.

Simon, Theodore and Eleanor looked at each other uneasily, Brittany was acting much happier than she was this morning, and she didn't even consider that Jeremy could be using her as part of a plan to win the competition.

Later that evening, at the dinner table, the six of them were sat with Dave and had just finished their dinners. Well everyone except Alvin, who had hardly eaten a thing. It was clear that he was upset; his plate was usually empty, but lately he had lost his appetite. Brittany, on the other hand, was happier and acting all upbeat, a complete transformation from her mood earlier in the day. Dave was keeping an eye on the two of them as he began to collect all the dishes from the table. He was curious as to why Brittany was so happy all of a sudden, and why Alvin was looking even more downtrodden than the last time he saw him. But he knew that it would be best for him to keep out of the matter, as it could have more disastrous effects.

Dave took all the dishes into the kitchen and cleared the table, Theodore and Eleanor went into the kitchen to help him.

Alvin returned to the bedroom, Jeanette soon followed, and Brittany returned to the living room to watch some more television. Simon was left to his own devises, and decided to go see what Theodore and Eleanor were up to in the kitchen.

"Thanks for the help you two." Dave said appreciatively as he loaded up the dishwasher. "Do you know what's up with Alvin and Brittany?"

"Brittany is friends with one of the boys on the jock team." Eleanor answered.

"So that's why she seemed happier." Dave said.

"But we think that he is being friends with Brittany because of the competition." Theodore explained. At that moment in time, Simon entered the kitchen and jumped up onto the counter.

"Does Simon agree with you two?" Dave quizzed.

"Yes." Theodore replied. "Right Simon?"

"It is suspicious that he's decided to make such a move with the competition approaching." Simon summarised.

"What does Brittany think?" Dave asked curiously, as he finished loading the dishwasher and turned it on.

"She doesn't believe us." Eleanor said, "She's too stubborn to listen."

"Maybe you should approach the situation from a different angle." Dave suggested. Theodore and Eleanor were confused, they didn't understand what he was talking about.

"I suppose you mean to say that we shouldn't gang up and interrogate her," Simon said, deciphering Dave's advice so that Theodore and Eleanor could understand.

"You're the smartest out of all of us, Simon." Eleanor said, "Maybe you could talk to her."

"Don't go dragging me into this alone." Simon protested.

"But you are the only one that Brittany will listen to seriously." Theodore reasoned.

"We really need to work as a team on this one, it's for the best." Dave encouraged.

At hearing Dave side with Theodore and Eleanor, Simon knew that he would have to agree.

"Okay, I suppose you're right, I'll go talk to Brittany, alone." Simon said, emphasising the word 'alone'.

"Thanks for helping, Simon." Dave acknowledged, "We need all the help we can get."

In the bedroom, Alvin was sat on the edge of his bunk bed staring at the floor. Jeanette was sat on the edge of her own bunk, looking up at him whilst trying to figure out her next step. She suddenly remembered about the night at the fast food restaurant, and how Alvin and Brittany were really close.

"Alvin?" Jeanette said getting his attention; he looked up from the floor.

"Yes," He replied flatly.

"Do you remember the night that we went to the diner?" Jeanette enquired.

"Sure. Why?" Alvin answered.

"Well, how did you feel?" She asked.

"Great. We were getting along so well, I was so happy." Alvin said smiling, reliving the memories in his mind, giving him a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

"I remember seeing you two acting all cute, and I was talking to the rest of the guys." Jeanette said recalling the memory. "I remember saying that you two were 'taking a leaf out of Theo and Elle's book', because you were getting along."

"You were all watching?" Alvin asked, embarrassed at the prospect.

"Yes, and I think that the whole diner experience holds the key to your relationship." Jeanette explained.

"Really?" Alvin asked, suddenly all enthusiastic at the chance of reigniting his relationship with Brittany.

"If you try to act as you did at the diner, then Britt might reconsider her stance on the matter." Jeanette proposed.

"It's worth a shot." Alvin agreed.

Back in the living room, Simon approached the sofa and sat next to Brittany, who was still watching television.

"Brittany?" Simon asked, trying to get her attention.

"Yes." She replied happily.

"I want to talk to you seriously for a moment." Simon said.

"About what?" She asked.

"About this whole ordeal over the last few days and your friendship with Jeremy," Simon outlined.

"What of it?" Brittany said.

"I don't think that Jeremy is being as honest as he is leading you to believe." Simon explained.

"And what makes you say that?" Brittany asked, becoming quite defensive on the matter.

"He is befriending you just before the competition, and he hasn't approached or even met you before." Simon answered.

"He's just really friendly, that's all, it's just a coincidence that it's nearly competition time." Brittany protested.

"Or, he has cleverly plotted it with the jock team and is trying to stir the competition up in their favour." Simon replied. "I have experienced Jeremy's friendly facade, and unfortunately fallen for his deviance."

"He wouldn't do that." Brittany answered.

"Well he did. I was humiliated by his antics with the jocks, and I don't want you to suffer the same fate." Simon explained thoughtfully.

This gave Brittany something to think about, she didn't want to believe that she was part of a big scheme of the jocks, but Simon had already experienced one of Jeremy's cunning plans and she didn't want to be made a fool of.

"I just thought that he was trying to be friendly, and caring." Brittany explained protesting her innocence.

"Well, there's someone in there trying to do the same." Simon answered, pointing in the direction of the bedroom.

"Alvin?" Brittany asked curiously.

"Yes." Simon answered bluntly.

"Really?" Brittany questioned suspiciously.

"Really." Simon replied seriously.

Brittany was taken aback by this, she hadn't realised that Alvin had been trying to patch things up between them. She had been too preoccupied with the prospect of his continuous neglect, to notice his efforts to make amends for his earlier mistakes.

"I think you should give him another chance." Simon suggested.

"I have been harsh on him lately," Brittany agreed, realising what she had been doing. "You're right; I should try and give him another chance."

The two of them got up from the sofa and headed for the bedroom.

"Thanks for all the advice, Jeanette," Alvin said, as he jumped down of his bed, in the direction of the door.

"I just think that you two should be together, and it's for the good of the team." Jeanette explained, as she carefully climbed down the ladders from her bunk bed, and walked to join him.

"These last few days, you've been the only one who's stood by me." Alvin said appreciatively. "Unlike Simon."

"Simon just knows you too well to believe otherwise." Jeanette defended.

"Thank you for being such a caring friend," Alvin said, turning and approaching with a small tear in the corner of his eye.

Alvin leaned in and hugged her, putting his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder. Jeanette didn't know how to react to this unexpected turn of events, Alvin was visibly upset and was probably flooding with emotions; causing him to break down. All she could do was comfort him by putting a reassuring arm around him. Jeanette had never known Alvin to be this fragile, his true feelings were surfacing through pure desperation. He wanted to make up with Brittany and was so lonely without her.

Jeanette heard the sound of the bedroom door opening, and looked up to see Simon and Brittany stood in the doorway, speechless. Jeanette gasped in surprise and immediately let go of Alvin, who continued to hug her. Simon and Brittany's reactions were identical; they both took in what was in front of them before their shocked expressions turned to anger. Jeanette didn't know what to do, she was in an uncomfortable situation and froze to the spot out of pure fright. Simon and Brittany both stormed out of the room, leaving Alvin and Jeanette alone in the bedroom. Jeanette knew that this wasn't going to go down well with the two of them.

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**Things aren't looking good for their relationships, and with less than a week until the competition starts, they have it all to do.**

**Please review.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	13. A Torn Team

**Posted early as requested, this chapter sees the chipmunks organise the team selection ready for the competition. ****Hope you enjoy.**

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The journey to school was quiet; Alvin, Simon, Brittany and Jeanette did not want to talk to one another, because of the events that had occurred the previous night. All the misunderstandings had left the four of them silent, the atmosphere was volatile, and any 'out of place' comment could cause an argument. Dave was silent too, observing from the driver's seat as he adjusted the rear-view mirror for a better view of the six of them.

Theodore and Eleanor looked across at each other in unison, with confused looks on their faces. They were completely oblivious to the series of events that had taken place the previous night. Theodore looked across to Eleanor again, then opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself at the last second. Eleanor was urging him not to say anything, putting her finger on her lips, and frantically shaking her head. She knew that Theodore meant well, but there was a lot of tension in the air, and he could spark off a big argument. Meanwhile, Alvin and Simon, Brittany and Jeanette, were avoiding eye contact by looking in opposite directions to one another.

The car journey was quiet, and they all arrived at their school lockers without uttering a single word to each other. The four of them went about their business sorting out their lockers, with Theodore, Eleanor and Dave looking on, confused by their unusual behaviour.

"See you all later." Dave said as he left the six of them at the lockers. Theodore and Eleanor watched him walk down the hall and out of sight.

"Do you think Dave knows what's wrong?" Theodore asked.

"I don't think so," Eleanor replied, "He looks just as confused as we are."

The two of them turned back to the others and tried to figure out what was wrong with them.

"Why are you all acting strange?" Theodore asked. No one answered; evidently they didn't want to talk about it. Eleanor continued to interrogate them, pushing for any insights into the collective silence.

"You've all been quiet since last night. Did something happen?" Eleanor questioned. Jeanette reacted to this by looking at the two of them and nodding in silence, with a look of regret on her face.

"What happened?" Theodore asked.

Brittany slammed her locker shut and marched off down the hall in an angry looking mood. Jeanette sighed at the sight of Brittany acting in a temperamental and unforgiving mood; she would never be able to explain the misunderstanding to her. Simon also slammed his locker and marched off down the hall, giving Jeanette a hostile glare as he passed by.

"Was it something I said?" Theodore asked, concerned that he had sparked off the conflict.

"It's okay Theo; it's not your fault." Eleanor reassured. "It has something to do with last night. Please tell us what happened, you two."

At that moment, Alvin and Jeanette shut their lockers and began to walk away, avoiding having to explain themselves.

"It's our fault isn't it?" Eleanor said, making out that they were to blame. "We shouldn't have tried to help." Alvin and Jeanette stopped and turned back to face Theodore and Eleanor.

"You two aren't to blame," Jeanette explained. "You only want what's best for all of us and the team."

"Yeah, it's my fault." Alvin confessed. "I was the one who caused this whole misunderstanding. I shouldn't have hugged Jen; I should've kept my emotions to myself."

Alvin walked away with his head lowered, disappointed at how things were panning out.

"Alvin was upset and needed a hug. But Brittany and Simon walked in, and they got the wrong idea." Jeanette explained. "I'm sorry, I really tried to help, but I just made everything worse."

She walked off from the two of them, looking somewhat downtrodden from the conversation, leaving Theodore and Eleanor speechless, taking in all that Alvin and Jeanette had told them. After a few moments the two of them came back to reality and realised that they had class soon, they hurried off before the school bell could ring, so as not to be late.

Later, at lunchtime, it was evident that the previous nights misunderstanding was causing problems. Theodore and Eleanor entered the cafeteria to see Alvin and Jeanette sat together, and Simon and Brittany also sat together at the opposite side of the room, keeping the biggest possible distance between them.

On collecting their lunches, Theodore and Eleanor were faced with the issue of who to sit with.

"If they all sat together we wouldn't have to choose." Theodore said, as he looked across the room for a seat.

"If we choose one of them over the other, then the other will think that we are taking a side in their private war." Eleanor explained.

"I don't want to be part of their war." Theodore replied, becoming slightly distressed at the prospect of being involved in the conflict.

"Don't worry; we'll sit outside in the fresh air." Eleanor suggested. "The sun is out and it's a beautiful day."

Theodore smiled at hearing this, and the two of them walked through the cafeteria and outside to an unoccupied lunch table. Whilst walking to the exit of the cafeteria, the two of them noticed the jocks all sat at a table near to Alvin and Jeanette. They were all laughing and joking to one another, with their focus being aimed at Alvin and Brittany, and probably Simon and Brittany as well.

"I knew the jocks were behind all this." Eleanor said as she sat at the table. Theodore joined her soon after, slightly distracted by the jocks enjoyment at the problems that the chipmunk team were facing.

"Why are they so mean?" Theodore said.

"Because they have big heads," Eleanor replied. "With even bigger egos."

Theodore giggled at this, before tucking into his lunch.

"Jeremy was just fuelling the fire," Eleanor said, "Alvin and Britt already had problems, the jocks just wanted to make them worse."

"But now, Simon and Jeanette are arguing as well." Theodore replied in disappointment.

"The two of them are trying so hard to reunite Alvin and Britt, but it's just getting worse." Eleanor added. "Maybe we should stop getting involved."

"But we have to do something." Theodore protested desperate to help reunite the team.

"I know." Eleanor agreed, "But maybe the best action to take would be no action at all."

Theodore stopped his protests and thought about this for a moment, it was a very well thought out and intelligent point from Eleanor. It slightly surprised him that she had come up with something that would be on a par with Simon's reasoning.

"You're right," Theodore agreed reluctantly.

"We'll only make things worse." Eleanor added.

The two of them continued their lunch and kept an eye on Alvin, Jeanette, Simon and Brittany. Jeanette and Simon were still attempting to fix Alvin and Brittany's relationship, even at the risk of jeopardising their own.

Later that evening, at the dinner table, the situation was almost a mirror image of the car journey to school. Alvin, Simon, Brittany and Jeanette were not talking to each other, leaving Theodore, Eleanor and Dave to talk amongst themselves.

"So, how was school today?" Dave asked.

"It was okay." Theodore replied, slightly disappointed at the team becoming torn apart by personal issues.

"We had cooking class." Eleanor added.

"Was it fun?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, we baked some cookies." Theodore replied cheering up a bit at talking about cooking class.

"You two are getting in some practise for the sixth round of the competition from cooking class." Dave said.

"If we keep practising we'll beat the jocks at cooking." Eleanor replied happily.

"Oh, speaking of beating the jocks, we need to organise the team selection for the competition." Dave reminded.

"And we get to do the cooking?" Theodore asked hopefully.

"Of course." Dave replied. "So we need to organise it after we finish dinner. I'll get my flipchart and we'll all complete the team selection."

"Okay." Eleanor agreed.

Dave looked at the other four chipmunks, who didn't seem to be paying any attention, they kept their heads down and mouths shut. He sighed and looked at Theodore and Eleanor, they both shrugged in response, not wanting to get involved because of the risk of making things worse.

"You're gonna have to stop this silence thing, it's not going to be easy to organise the team if you sit there in mute." Dave explained.

The four of them looked at each other with an air of hostility, but knew that he was right; it was in the best interest of the team.

Everyone finish dinner and Dave began to clear the table.

"I want you all to go and wait in the living room." He said. "I'll join you as soon as I've finished cleaning up the dishes."

The six of them left the table, and after a few minutes Dave arrived in the living room with his flipchart.

"Well I've got the events list; all we need to do is fill it." Dave said as he wrote the six events on the board, the chipmunks watching on from the couch. "So the obvious starting point would be the cooking event."

"That's us." Eleanor said happily.

"Theodore and Eleanor, and we need a third person." Dave said.

"I'll do it," Alvin volunteered. "Moving pots and pans around in the kitchen will be a piece of cake."

"Okay then, Alvin can be the third member of the cooking team." Dave said.

"You are good at moving pans," Theodore agreed.

"I'm glad that's one round sorted, only five to go." Dave said. "So how about the chess round? Simon? Jeanette?" The two of them nodded in agreement.

"Who's going to be the last member of the chess team?" Dave asked, unsure of who knew how to play chess he looked at the remaining four.

"I can play." Eleanor said.

"Are you sure?" Dave asked.

"I'm not that good, but I can practise and get better." She replied confidently.

"We'll help you practise." Jeanette reassured.

"Thanks Jen." Eleanor replied.

"So that's the chess event done," Dave said, "How about the 'countdown' event? Simon and Jeanette?"

The two of them nodded in approval once again, they were the prime candidates for all the logical challenges.

"Who else?" Dave asked. Theodore and Eleanor shook their heads; they weren't very good with numbers.

"Don't look at me," Alvin said, "I hate math."

"I'll do it," Brittany volunteered, "It can't be too hard, besides, Simon and Jeanette can help me."

"Okay, Simon, Jeanette and Brittany for that round," Dave summarised as he jotted it down on the flipchart. "How about the running event?"

"I'll run." Alvin said confidently.

"Okay, that's one." Dave said.

"I did say that I would do the physical challenges," Brittany replied, "So I'll run too."

"And the final runner?" Dave said looking at the others. Simon and Jeanette didn't look very keen to do the physical activity, and Theodore wasn't going to volunteer; he hated running.

"I suppose I can run," Eleanor said.

"Are you sure?" Dave asked.

"No one else will, I'll do it for the team." She answered.

"Thanks Eleanor," Dave replied, "Good team spirit." Dave tallied up the team list and wrote down the names. "Eleanor, you've been put in three events, so you can't compete in any more, three's the limit. So you don't have to volunteer for the rest." He explained.

"Okay." Eleanor replied.

"Theodore, you have two more events to compete in, there are only two left so you have to compete in both." Dave said as he continued to tally up the events.

"Okay Dave." Theodore replied, understanding that he had added it up on the flipchart.

"So, in the video games event, Theodore will be competing. And, Alvin? Dave asked.

"I'm a pro." Alvin replied.

"That's two," Dave said, "Who else?

Brittany looked across at Simon and Jeanette, not wanting to play any video games. Simon thought to himself for a moment and realised that the last event was dodge ball, he shook his head at Dave; not wanting to put Jeanette in the dodge ball event.

"I guess I could try." Jeanette said looking across at Simon and Brittany.

"Well, if no one else wants to." Dave said looking at the other two. "You will be the last player in the event."

Dave began to write down all the names and tally up the amount of events for each chipmunk, before declaring the last event.

"And finally, dodge ball. From the process of elimination; Simon, Theodore and Brittany will be competing in the event." Dave summarised.

Brittany had a look of horror on her face, she didn't want to get hit with a dodge ball; it would be painful and might mess up her hair.

"Okay," Simon and Theodore agreed residing to their fate.

"That's the team selection done." Dave said as he grabbed a piece of paper and a pen to make note of the team order.

"But." Brittany protested, not knowing what to say to prevent her from having to compete in the dodge ball event.

Alvin was looking across at Brittany, as he had been out of the corner of his eye for the entire team selection meeting, and noticed her reaction to the event arrangements. He knew Brittany didn't want to do the dodge ball event, he knew her well enough to read her body language and figure it out.

Brittany sighed and accepted that she had to compete in the event, her posture slumping at the thought of it. They all jumped off the couch and headed off to do their own things, all except Brittany and Alvin.

"Dave?" Alvin said, interrupting his writing.

"What Alvin?" He asked, looking up from the sheet of paper.

"Do you think you could put me in the dodge ball event?" Alvin asked. "Brittany could take my place in the cooking event."

Brittany was stunned at what she had just heard; she looked across at Alvin with a surprised expression on her face.

"Well, okay, but only if it's alright with Brittany," Dave replied looking across at her, she was still staring at Alvin.

"Brittany? Is it okay with you?" Dave asked. Brittany looked up at him, realising that he wanted her approval.

"Yes." She replied quickly, her enthusiasm of not doing dodge ball getting the better of her.

"Alright, I'll swap the events around for the two of you." Dave said as he scribbled on the paper in his hand.

"Thanks Dave." Alvin said as he hopped off the couch and headed for his bedroom.

Brittany remained on the couch as Dave moved his flipchart back to his music room and sat at his desk. An air of uncertainty had crept into her mind; she didn't have to do dodge ball anymore because Alvin had actually helped her out. He was still trying to help her, even though she was treating him badly. When Alvin was treating her in a similar manner she was not so forgiving.

She had finally realised that Alvin was sorry for his actions, and was trying his very hardest to make up for it. She had been so harsh to him and her reactions were a bit over the top, but now she had figured it out she was appreciative of his efforts.

Even though Alvin had started trying to treat her with respect, she still couldn't be sure how long it would last. If she started fresh with their relationship, then how could she be sure that the same thing wouldn't just happen again?

Brittany was now faced with a big decision; she could take Alvin back, but she didn't want the relationship to deteriorate like before. Would she be willing to take the risk?

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** I hope Brittany takes the risk, it's hard seeing them apart.**

**Thanks for the reviews, and thanks for reading. :)**


	14. A Lesson in Love

**Relationships are on the agenda and they aren't very stable. **

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Time is ticking, only five days left until the start of the competition; the chipmunks need all the help they can get.

The household awakes to a sunny Wednesday morning; hopefully the weather can influence the mood of the chipmunks, which is hostile at best.

Surprisingly, Brittany was the first to awake and emerge from the bedroom, aided by the fact that she had had trouble sleeping at all. She couldn't help but ponder the state of the friendship between her and Alvin, and hadn't gotten much sleep in doing so.

Brittany sat down for breakfast, deep in thought, daydreaming enough not to notice that Alvin had entered the kitchen and was heading for the table where she was sat. Alvin jumped up onto the table and took a seat, still looking away from Brittany, expecting a hostile reception. This caught Brittany's attention, snapping her out of her daydreaming and back to reality. She glanced over at Alvin to check if he was still down in the dumps. To her, Alvin looked sad, and she felt guilty for this; he was trying so hard to convince her to forgive him and she had been stubborn and forgiving. After sitting in silence for what seemed like hours Brittany made up her mind.

"Listen, Alvin." Brittany said, before her mind went blank.

"Please forgive me Britt." Alvin replied, looking up with a look of honesty. "I know I did wrong. But I'm willing to do whatever it takes."

Brittany could tell by the genuine emotion in his voice that he was speaking from the heart, and truly meant the sentiment.

"Thanks Alvin," She replied, "You really helped me out last night."

"I knew you didn't want to do dodge ball, plus I didn't want you to get hurt." Alvin explained.

He was being so thoughtful, and after all she had put him through these last few weeks. She felt a lump developing in her throat as she realised how hurtful she had been.

"I forgive you." Brittany said, keeping her emotions at bay. "It's silly for us not to talk to each other, and I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who should be sorry, I've not treated you with enough respect, and you've shown me that." Alvin reasoned.

Hearing this made Brittany feel even worse about herself, she had put him through hell this last couple of days and he was still blaming himself, even though it was partly her fault.

"Let's just be friends again." Brittany said desperately, "I missed talking to you."

"I missed you too," Alvin replied, getting to his feet and walking over to her. Brittany stood up and welcomed him with a friendly embrace; they hugged out their problems and had restored their friendship.

Dave entered the kitchen area in time to see the two in their friendship restoring embrace.

"I'm glad to see you two have kissed and made up." Dave said as he walked over to the table.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far." Brittany replied, "Sure we're friends again, but I'm not sure I'm ready to restart our relationship."

"Why not?" Alvin asked curiously.

"I have my reasons." Brittany replied fobbing off any questioning about her decision.

"Well, the main thing is that you two are friends." Dave said happily, looking on the bright side.

At that moment Theodore and Eleanor emerged from the bedroom, overhearing Dave's remarks. They both joined Alvin and Brittany at the table, curious to know if they had heard Dave correctly.

"Have you two patched up your differences?" Eleanor asked.

"Are you friends again?" Theodore asked.

"Yes." Brittany replied happily.

"We're a team again," Alvin added. This pleased Theodore and Eleanor, all the hard work at mending the relationship had paid off.

"Are Simon and Jeanette up yet?" Dave asked.

"Not yet," Eleanor replied

"It's not like them to sleep in." Dave said. On finishing his sentence, Dave noticed Jeanette emerge from the bedroom and into the kitchen area.

"Good morning Jeanette. Is Simon up yet?" Jeanette shrugged and continued to walk to the table, not showing any concern for what Simon was doing.

"Someone needs to wake Simon up, or we'll all be late for school." Dave said as he poured out a bowl of cereal.

"I don't think Simon would be too pleased to see me." Alvin said, knowing that he wouldn't get a friendly reception from his brother this early in the morning.

"I'll go." Theodore said as he hopped off the table and walked across to the bedroom.

"The rest of you better start getting ready for school as well." Dave said.

Theodore entered the bedroom and looked around to see if Simon was up yet.

"Simon?" He said, before climbing up onto his bed.

"What is it?" Simon replied sounding half asleep.

"You need to get up; we're going to school soon." Theodore explained.

Simon sat up in bed and tried to wake up as best he could. He put his glasses on and looked at the clock; this was a decent enough wake up call for him.

"Seven thirty!" Simon said, jumping out of bed in surprise. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"I did." Theo replied.

"Thanks, but it's a little late to be woken up. Seven thirty." Simon said, frantically grabbing his clothes and heading for the bathroom.

Theodore's job here was done, so he headed back to the kitchen, hoping that Simon wouldn't cause them to be late for school.

Thankfully they all arrived at their school lockers with a few minutes to spare. Dave rushed off to Dr Rubin's office, not wanting to be tardy. The six of them were generally looking more cheerful than they had done for a while; helped by the fact that Alvin and Brittany were now friends again.

"Britt," Alvin asked, "I think it's great that we're friends again, but..."

"Me too," Brittany replied quickly, knowing that the conversation was heading towards their relationship, and steering it away.

"But I want to know why you aren't sure about our relationship." Alvin continued.

Brittany wanted to avoid explaining her reasons but knew that she would have to sooner or later.

"Well, it's really because of the neglect I got from the relationship before. And I kinda resent you for that." Brittany explained.

"Can't you just put it behind you so we can start over?" Alvin asked, hoping for the best for their relationship.

"I can't just forget about something like that, it could jeopardise any new relationship we have." Brittany reasoned.

"Okay, I understand." Alvin replied, deep down inside he was angry nut he knew that it was his doing and he was the only one to blame.

Simon and Jeanette were keeping quiet and avoiding one another, after collecting their school stuff from the lockers they left in opposite directions. Theodore was watching the two of them as they left without any acknowledgement to each other.

"I don't think Simon and Jeanette are getting along very well." Theodore said turning to the three remaining chipmunks.

"We helped fix Alvin and Brittany's relationship, but we broke theirs in the process." Eleanor agreed.

"What's that about fixing out relationship?" Brittany asked curiously.

"Well, we were the ones who put Simon and Jeanette up to helping you." Theodore explained.

"So our breakup has caused Simon and Jeanette to drift apart?" Alvin asked.

"I'm afraid so," Eleanor replied.

"That's awful, we have to do something." Brittany said feeling guilty that her actions had caused the rift in the relationship.

"We better discuss it at lunch or we'll all be late for class." Alvin said realising that they were almost late. The four of them dashed off to their first classes, with thoughts of Simon and Jeanette's relationship stuck in the back of their minds.

Later at lunch, it was evident of a rift developing between the two of them. Simon and Jeanette were sat at separate tables eating their lunches. Theodore and Eleanor sat on a table between them, so as not to cause them to fall out and so that they could keep a close eye on the two the two of them. Alvin walked over to Jeanette and sat next to her.

"Hi Jeanette," He greeted as he joined her for lunch.

"I'm sorry Alvin, but you can't hang around with me, it's causing problems between me and Simon." Jeanette explained.

"It's okay, I understand." Alvin replied.

He stood up and left the table, seeking out advice from another source, he was determined to find a way of restoring his relationship with Brittany. Theodore and Eleanor watched on as Alvin left Jeanette's table and joined Simon at his.

"Hi Simon," Alvin greeted, trying to get on his good side.

"What is it Alvin?" he replied with annoyance in his voice.

"Well, I was wondering if you could help me." Alvin continued.

"Leave me alone." Simon replied.

"But..." Alvin protested.

"You've done enough damage already," Simon interrupted angrily. "I'm the one who needs help, my relationship with Jeanette is crumbling and _you _need help?"

"I can help you." Alvin volunteered.

"You're the last person that I would ask for help. Just go away Alvin." Simon raged.

"Okay, sorry I asked," Alvin replied with attitude.

Simon glared at him; this was enough to get him to make a hasty retreat to the table where Theodore and Eleanor were sat. Brittany joined them just as Alvin had sat down.

"Wow, the line for lunch was so long." Brittany said as she took a seat.

"Hi Britt," Alvin welcomed.

"Hi," She replied, looking across to Simon and Jeanette checking how each of them was doing.

"They're still not talking." Eleanor said.

"Well Jeanette would, but she didn't want to make things worse." Alvin explained.

"What about Simon?" Theodore asked.

"He's really angry at me, so I better keep out of his way for a while." Alvin answered.

"I should talk to Simon," Brittany volunteered, "After all, he talked to me when we broke up."

"Good idea." Eleanor replied.

"We'll finish lunch first though?" Theodore suggested as he tucked into his own.

"I suppose so, it's harder to think on an empty stomach," Brittany agreed. "Elle, you should try and talk with Jen, she'll listen to you, she always has done."

"I'll see what I can do." Eleanor replied.

Once Brittany had finished her lunch, she got up to go to Simon's table.

"Could you boys clean up our trays?" Brittany asked.

"Sure," Alvin replied sounding a bit too keen.

Eleanor got up from their table and headed for Jeanette's table.

"Good luck." Theodore said.

"Thanks." Eleanor replied smiling back at him.

At that moment Alvin had a brainwave, seeing Theodore and Eleanor's social chemistry reminded him of something that Jeanette had mentioned. 'Taking a leaf out of Theo and Elle's book', that was it; Jeanette had provided him with the answer to his problems. Alvin flashed back to all the times that Theodore and Eleanor had been acting all 'Lovey-dovey' in front of him. The time where the two of them were lying back-to-back after Theodore had a nightmare. The time where him and Brittany first saw them holding hands at school. The time when the chipettes tried on their dresses preparing for the photo shoot, and Theodore and Eleanor hugged. And the time that Theodore stood up to Ryan and protected Eleanor purely out of love. Remembering all these events, it clicked, Alvin knew what to do.

As he took the trays back to the cafeteria with Theodore and put them on a stack of trays, he decided to give his idea a shot.

"Theo?" Alvin said.

"Yes," he replied looking at Alvin curiously.

"Could you help me?" He asked.

"How?" Theodore asked puzzled at what he could offer him in the form of help.

"Well, I want to get back together with Britt, but she doesn't think I'm..." Alvin said not being able to find the word in his vocabulary. "What I'm trying to say is, can you help me be more like you?"

Theodore just stared back at him with utter confusion, he still had no idea what Alvin was trying to say and what he could do to help.

"You and Elle have been close over the past couple of weeks and I wanted some pointers." Alvin explained further.

"Oh," Theodore replied, finally understanding the proposal of help.

"Well, do you think you could help?" Alvin asked hopefully.

"I'm not sure; you would just be tricking Brittany into thinking you had changed." Theodore replied feeling uneasy about the idea.

"I just need to know what I have to do to treat her right and then I can make the change permanent." Alvin explained, pleading his case.

"I'll have to think about it." Theodore said, knowing that Alvin could be using him to trick Brittany, but ultimately needing time to think for himself before making any rash decisions.

Back outside at the lunch tables, Brittany was with Simon attempting to convince him to patch things up with Jeanette. And Eleanor was with Jeanette trying to help her patch things up with Simon.

"Listen Simon," Brittany said as she joined him at the table. "I know that the 'hugging incident' the other night is behind this fallout."

"It's not just that," Simon replied.

"What else is there?" Brittany asked.

Simon paused and thought to himself whether it was a good idea to tell her or not.

"Ever since you and Alvin split up, Jeanette has been siding with him and trying to hang around with him as much as possible." Simon explained. "And after the 'incident' the other night I'm convinced that Jeanette wants to be with Alvin and not me."

Brittany was slightly surprised at hearing all this, she was oblivious to Jeanette and Alvin being close and didn't really buy into Simon's story.

"Don't think like that, Jeanette wouldn't want to be with Alvin." Brittany said, "It's all just a big misunderstanding, nothing between the six of us has changed, we're all still one big family."

Simon didn't answer back about it; he just gave Brittany the cold shoulder treatment. He knew she was trying to convince him that he was imagining the whole thing, but it was so clear in his eyes that Jeanette liked Alvin.

"Well, don't be so quick to make accusations; it could do more harm than good." Brittany suggested, leaving the table and returning to her own.

Eleanor was having a little more luck with Jeanette than Brittany had with Simon.

"Jen, why are you acting like this?" Eleanor asked. Jeanette didn't feel like talking, she felt annoyed about the whole ordeal.

"What is it all about? You can tell me." Eleanor added being supportive towards her sister.

"Well..." Jeanette started, convincing herself to talk. "I'm annoyed at Simon. He thinks that I have a thing for Alvin, when I was only trying to help their relationship."

"I think Simon's just a little stressed and frustrated. He wouldn't mean it really." Eleanor encouraged.

"The whole hugging episode was a big misunderstanding, I was only being thoughtful and comforting, and Simon jumps to the conclusion that I like Alvin more than I like him." Jeanette explained. "I just want him to apologize for thinking I don't love him anymore."

"Don't worry Jen; he'll come to his senses." Eleanor said, trying to keep Jeanette's spirits up.

"If he does, I'll forgive him." Jeanette replied, knowing she could lose him if she didn't.

Eleanor left Jeanette and returned to Brittany at their own table, who was still awaiting the return of Alvin and Theodore. Eleanor could tell that Jeanette wasn't truly mad with Simon, she just wanted to be treated fairly, and if Simon did that then they would patch-up their friendship and everything would be back to normal.

"How did it go with Simon?" Eleanor asked.

"He's convinced that Jeanette is more interested in Alvin than himself." Brittany replied.

"Jen wants him to apologise for thinking that she does." Eleanor added. Brittany sighed.

"It's going to be tough getting Simon to change his mind about Jeanette liking Alvin." She said.

"We have to try." Eleanor replied.

Whilst walking back outside from the cafeteria, Theodore noticed the jocks laughing together all sat as a team, he also saw how disbanded their own team looked. Seeing the two contrasting scenarios helped make up his mind, he didn't want the team to break up and he certainly didn't want to be beaten by the jocks. Theodore stopped just outside of the cafeteria, a fair distance from where Brittany and Eleanor were sat. Alvin noticed that he had stopped and turned back to see why.

"I will help you Alvin," Theodore said.

"Really?" Alvin questioned.

"Yes, but only if you find a way to get Jeanette and Simon to make up and be friends again." Theodore explained.

"As soon as I get back with Britt I'll fix Simon and Jeanette's relationship. Okay?" Alvin proposed.

"Okay." Theodore replied, happy to know that Alvin would help him.

"We'll start tonight, but don't tell anyone, it has to be a secret." Alvin said, stressing the required secrecy of the whole thing.

Theodore was helping Alvin for the sake of the team, getting him to help reunite the team was a better prospect than going it alone. It was the only choice he had, and Alvin and the team would not want to lose to the jocks.

* * *

**I'm so glad that Alvin and Brittany are friends again, but what about Simon and Jeanette.**

**If Alvin's lesson in love pays off, he can help restore the whole situation.**


	15. A Change of Heart

**Sorry about the late update, started University again and my car broke, but enough about me.**

**The story continues, will Theodore be successful in teaching Alvin how to treat Brittany right?**

* * *

Later that night, after dinner, the chipmunks all went off from the dinner table to do their own thing. As expected Simon and Jeanette split up and went in opposite directions keeping as far away from one another as possible. Brittany sat with Alvin at the table and watched the two of them part ways, before getting up and jumping over to the edge of the table for a better view. Seeing the two of them acting like that was making her feel uncomfortable, consciously believing that she had inadvertently caused them to drift apart.

"We have to help them, Alvin." Brittany said as she saw the two of them walk away and out of sight.

"Don't look at me." Alvin said holding his hands up.

"Why can't you help?" Brittany asked, annoyed at him backing out.

"I'm not the most popular person with the two of them at the moment." Alvin replied. "Besides, I already tried at lunchtime."

"Well, if you won't help I'll do it alone." Brittany said becoming moody.

"I'm sorry Britt; I just don't think it's a good idea for me to get involved." Alvin explained. "But I'll try to help you in any way I can."

"Great, thanks Alvin." Brittany replied sarcastically as she jumped off the table and headed in the direction that Simon had gone. Alvin sighed before going to the bedroom and lying on his bed, awaiting the arrival of Theodore with his relationship counselling.

Meanwhile, Theodore and Eleanor were in the kitchen helping Dave tidy up.

"Had any luck with Simon and Jeanette?" Dave asked.

"Oh, you noticed the two of them?" Eleanor asked.

"How could I not." Dave replied.

"We've tried," Theodore said. "I'm going to get Alvin to help us; he'll know what to do."

"Okay, well, we're all done here," Dave said putting away the last of the dinner plates. "Don't let Alvin get out of hand, you know how he can be."

"Okay." Theodore replied as he and Eleanor left the kitchen and headed for the living room.

"I thought that Alvin had already tried." Eleanor said, "What else can he do?"

"He always has a plan." Theodore replied. "And we can't really do anything else."

"I guess you're right, it couldn't hurt to let Alvin get involved again." Eleanor said.

"But I have to help Alvin with his relationship first." Theodore explained.

"What? How?" Eleanor asked.

"He wants me to teach him how to treat Brittany better." Theodore answered. "But don't tell anyone, it has to be kept a secret."

"Okay, if it'll help the team, I'll keep it a secret." Eleanor agreed.

"Thanks Elle." Theodore replied, giving her a warm smile of appreciation.

He turned and headed for the bedroom where Alvin was waiting. Eleanor headed for the living room to watch some TV, but met Brittany on the way.

"Do you know where Jen is?" she asked.

"I haven't seen her since dinner, sorry." Eleanor answered.

"I've become the messenger," Brittany explained, "But if it'll get the two of them back together then I'll do it."

"Thanks Britt." Eleanor said appreciatively, before Brittany rushed off looking for Jeanette.

Theodore entered the bedroom and closed the door behind him. Hearing the door close, Alvin jumped up and peered over the edge of his bed. On seeing that it was Theodore, he quickly leapt down to meet up with him and begin the learning.

"Does anyone know that you're helping me?" Alvin asked. "You weren't followed were you?" He was kind of edgy in the way that he asked these questions.

"Well, no one followed me." Theodore replied.

"Good." Alvin replied, relaxing and calming down. He didn't want anyone to tell Brittany because she would be quick to jump to the conclusion that he was trying to trick her.

"But...I did tell Eleanor." Theodore confessed.

"What?" Alvin asked.

"It's alright, Eleanor won't tell anyone; we trust each other." Theodore replied smiling to himself.

"That's what I need help with." Alvin said. "Brittany and I have never trusted each other."

"I don't know how to help you with that. But I can try to help you be a nicer person." Theodore said.

"Hey, what do you mean 'nicer person'?" Alvin asked, taking offense.

"I...I just mean...you aren't always a nice person." Theodore tried to explain. Alvin frowned at him, becoming annoyed at the judging of his character, however accurate it was.

"Well as long as it'll help me get Brittany back." Alvin said. "So, what do I need to do?"

"I'm not sure..." Theodore said, before trying to figure out the reason that Alvin was here for help. "When you see me and Elle together, what do you notice?"

"Hmm...You are always smiling at each other?" Alvin answered.

"Yes, we are courteous towards each other." Theodore replied.

"How does that help?" Alvin asked, becoming impatient.

"We respect each other. That is the thing that you need to do." Theodore explained.

"Okay, so how should I do that?" Alvin asked continuing with more questions.

"Kind gestures can help build the respect and trust that you need." Theodore suggested, coming under pressure from Alvin's barrage of questions.

Alvin thought for a second before asking his next question, giving Theodore time to compose his mind.

"Like carrying stuff for her?" Alvin suggested.

"Yes, being polite." Theodore added.

"And getting her things if she asks," Alvin continued.

"Yes." Theodore agreed.

"I think I can manage that, Alvin said confidently.

"Remember to be polite when talking to her; you don't want to hurt her feelings." Theodore added.

"Great, it's not so hard after all." Alvin said.

"As long as you remember to be nicer to her." Theodore said, "Then you can help me with Simon and Jeanette as well."

"Sure, it'll be a piece of cake." Alvin reassured.

With the counselling session completed, Theodore left the bedroom and went to join Eleanor in the living room. On his way he noticed Brittany dashing across the room, she was still attempting to patch up the relationship by taking the role of messenger.

"What's Brittany doing?" Theodore asked curiously as he sat down next to Eleanor.

"She's relaying messages." Eleanor replied.

"Oh," He replied understandingly but still being puzzled.

"How did it go with Alvin?" Eleanor asked.

"Good, I think he knows how to behave now." Theodore replied. "I just asked him what he noticed about us being together."

"Really?" Eleanor asked.

"It's all I could think of." He replied.

"That's great." Eleanor replied happily, snuggling up to him, appreciating how much he valued their relationship. Theodore snuggled up to her in response; their relationship was still as strong as ever. Hopefully the relationships between their counterparts would be restored and they would all become as close as the two of them were.

Thursday morning, only four days left until the contest, and all was still not as it should be. It was time for Alvin to put his lesson in relationships into action.

The six of them were all waking up ready for school, and predictably Alvin and Brittany were last to get out of bed. The others had already gotten changed, used the bathroom and vacated the bedroom by the time the two of them emerged from their top bunks. Alvin jumped down to the floor from his bunk bed and headed for the bathroom, Brittany did the same, and they were both pegging level as they tried to outpace each other to get there first. Each of them not letting on that they were trying to beat the other to the bathroom.

"Race ya." Alvin said grinning confidently.

"No way." Brittany replied not looking interested.

As Alvin turned away from her, Brittany dashed ahead getting a head start over him. Realising that she was racing, Alvin was determined not to lose to her, it was his competitive nature. He raced past Brittany at speed, using the wall to change direction quickly.

Alvin made it to the bathroom first and stood with a grin on his face as Brittany arrived. She did not look amused. He suddenly remembered his lesson from Theodore, seeing the expression on Brittany's face jogged his memory, he was supposed to be respectful.

"You win Alvin." She said annoyed at his childishness.

"Ladies first." Alvin replied, directing her to the bathroom. Brittany didn't know what to think, Alvin wasn't usually courteous towards her, and it took her by surprise.

"Thanks." She said in a confused manner as she walked past him and entered the bathroom.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, Alvin punched the air; his lesson from Theodore was actually paying off.

At the breakfast table, Alvin noticed that Brittany was keeping an eye on him out of pure suspicion. Theodore and Eleanor noticed this too, and smiled at Alvin when he looked over at them, he smiled back in appreciation. Little could be said for Simon and Jeanette on the other hand, who were still at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of their relationship. At least things were looking up for Alvin, he was already visibly happier and more upbeat than before.

Upon arrival at school, the six of them went to their lockers and Dave left them as he headed off to Dr Rubin's office, as per usual. The only difference about today was that Alvin was geared up to help Brittany in any way he could to win her back.

As Brittany collected her belongings from the locker, Alvin approached her and politely interrupted.

"I'll carry those for you." He offered kindly. Again, this took Brittany aback; Alvin was being surprisingly kind to her today.

"Well, if you're offering." She replied, still slightly unsure of what to think.

Alvin took the possessions from her and carried them on top of his own school stuff. This was a revelation in the eyes of anyone who knew Alvin; unfortunately Simon and Jeanette were too busy ignoring each other to notice. Theodore and Eleanor had seen the developments and were happily watching Alvin and Brittany head off to class together.

"I think its working." Theodore said happily.

"Well done Theo." Eleanor praised, "You helped get their relationship back on track, all by yourself."

Theodore blushed and shuffled his feet, embarrassed at the amount of praise he was receiving for such a selfless act.

"I wish Simon and Jeanette would do the same." Eleanor added, as she watched the two of them walk away from each other.

"Alvin will help us fix it." Theodore reassured, putting a fair amount of faith in his brother.

"You know him better than I do." Eleanor agreed with him. The two of them headed off to their first classes with high hopes for Alvin and Brittany.

On the way to class, Brittany's curiosity got the better of her.

"Alvin? Why are you helping me?" She asked. Alvin shrugged in response.

"That's what friends do." Alvin explained.

"But you're not in the same class as me. Won't you be late?" Brittany asked becoming concerned about him.

"Nah, I'm pretty quick." Alvin replied chuckling. Brittany joined in, knowing that he was being boastful about beating her to the bathroom.

"That you are." Brittany said agreeing with him. They arrived at the class room after a short walk down the hall. "Well, this is my class." She said stopping next to the door.

"Do you want your stuff?" Alvin asked politely.

"Well, if you've finished carrying them." Brittany replied jokingly. Alvin handed her belongings back and made sure she had all of them.

"I'm gonna head off to class now." He announced, "I'll see you at lunch, okay?"

"Okay." Brittany replied, still of guard from how polite Alvin was acting.

He walked off down the hall to his class, safe in the knowledge that she was noticing his extra efforts for her.

At lunch time, Alvin met up with Brittany and they got their lunches together. Alvin carried her lunch to the table for her as a kind gesture. Theodore and Eleanor were sat at the table waiting for them; they smiled at the sight of Alvin and Brittany joining them at the table together. The same couldn't be said for Simon and Jeanette, who once again were sat at separate tables.

"Are Simon and Jeanette still as annoyed with each other as before?" Brittany asked.

"Yes, they still don't want to sit with each other." Eleanor replied.

"We have to help them somehow." Brittany said feeling guilty about the relationship issues again.

"I don't think that we should get involved in it anymore." Eleanor suggested, "We need to let them settle down and realise what they're doing."

"Eleanor's right, getting involved would just make it worse." Theodore added.

"I feel bad not helping them." Brittany explained.

"We just need to help them at the right times." Alvin reassured, signalling his intent of helping them.

Hearing Alvin's consideration of the relationship, Brittany settled down and decided that he was right. The four of them ate their lunches and carried on as normal, not getting drawn into Simon and Jeanette's relationship problem.

The school bell rang and they headed off to their next classes. Alvin carried his and Brittany's lunch trays back to the cafeteria, before walking with her to their next class. The two of them were in English class together, so Alvin could continue to assist Brittany in any way he could.

All the way through the class, he got Brittany all the things that she needed to do her work and made sure that she was as happy as possible. All these kind gestures were a sign of Alvin's intentions of restarting their relationship, he was becoming exhausted from all the extra effort but he knew it was worth it.

Later that evening, at home, Alvin was sat outside on the bench watching the sunset. He was deep in thought, pondering whether Brittany had noticed how much effort he had put in to helping her and why she wouldn't take him back in the first place. Maybe he would just have to accept the fact that he just wasn't any good at being her boyfriend no matter how hard he tried.

Alvin broke out of his thinking process to see Brittany jumping up onto the bench and beside him. He was surprised to see her but also curious as to why she was out here.

"The sunset is beautiful." Brittany said as she stared at the horizon.

"It sure is." Alvin agreed.

"Alvin, I noticed you acting all nice to me today." Brittany said. "And I was just wondering why you were doing it all."

"Well, I realised how ignorant I had been towards you, so I thought I'd try and make up for it."

"Oh, okay. I just thought that this whole thing had something to do with our relationship." Brittany explained.

"To be honest, it kinda did, but I didn't think that there was any way of us getting back together." Alvin confessed.

"I know you tried really hard to be nice to me today, and I enjoyed it, you do have a nice side but it's just hard for you to show it." Brittany continued. "I can see from how hard you are trying that our relationship really did mean a lot to you. I had doubts about your commitment to our relationship, but I can see that it won't be a problem."

"So you mean that..." Alvin asked, trailing off at the end, unsure that she actually meant everything she had said.

"Yes, I think we can restart our relationship." Brittany replied.

Alvin didn't know what to say, he was so taken up in the moment, all he could do was hug her. All the help from Theodore had paid off and his life could finally get back on track. The two of them nestled up to one another, savouring the moment with the beautiful sunset as a backdrop to the start of their new relationship.

"Déjà vu." Alvin said.

"I know. We were sat here when you came up with the plan to get us out of trouble." Brittany said.

"The plan worked." Alvin added proudly.

"I still feel bad for Simon and Jeanette though, the plan may have damaged their relationship." Brittany replied.

"Like before, I have a plan." Alvin said. "It'll fix their relationship."

"Really?" Brittany asked.

"Yep." Alvin replied confidently. He leant over and whispered the plan to Brittany. She was unsure about the idea, it was a long shot but it just might be crazy enough to work.

* * *

**I'm so happy that Alvin and Brittany are back together again, and hopefully the plan to get Simon and Jeanette back together will work too.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**And sorry again for the late update. :(**


	16. Love Trap

**Sorry about the extremely late update. To make up for it I made this chapter longer by merging it with part of the next chapter.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Friday, the last day of school before the weekend, Alvin and Brittany were looking forward to getting the day over with and chilling out. But the bad news that comes with today being Friday is that there are only three days until the competition. On top of that, Simon and Jeanette were still being awkward and not speaking to one another. Luckily Alvin has a plan and is on their case, ready to help fix the relationship.

Both Alvin and Brittany were up fairly early that morning and joined Theodore and Eleanor at the breakfast table. Simon and Jeanette were only just getting up; sleeping in was very unlike them but so was falling out with each other. The two of them never argued, they were always cooperative but since the disagreement they hadn't been themselves.

Brittany sat down at the opposite end of the table from Theodore and Eleanor, so she couldn't be heard, Alvin joined her soon after.

"So, have you figured out how your plan is going to work?" Brittany asked quietly, so that the others couldn't hear.

"I think so." Alvin replied in a whisper, "We can't just waltz up to Simon and Jeanette and ask them ourselves though."

"Yeah, you're right, they'll just ignore us." Brittany agreed.

"And Simon will just get angry at me again." Alvin added.

"So what do you have in mind?" Brittany asked.

"I think we should get Theo and Elle to ask instead." Alvin proposed, "That way Simon and Jeanette would listen and wouldn't catch onto our plan."

"As long as Theo and Elle agree to go along with it." Brittany reminded.

"They will, it's for the good of the team and our family." Alvin reassured.

By now Theodore and Eleanor were looking over at them, curious to know what they were talking about. Alvin and Brittany stopped their conversation, trying not to look suspicious. To their relief Dave entered the room and took the focus away from the two of them.

"Good morning guys." Dave greeted as he walked past them and into the kitchen.

"Good morning Dave." Theodore replied happily.

Simon emerged from the bedroom soon after Dave had walked into the kitchen; Jeanette was a few seconds behind him. The two of them still refused to communicate with one another, as they joined the others at the table.

Alvin and Brittany knew that now would be a bad time to try and talk to Theodore and Eleanor about the plan. They didn't want to raise any suspicions about their plan in front of Simon and Jeanette.

"We'll ask them later." Alvin whispered.

"Good idea," Brittany agreed, keeping an eye on the others to see if they were showing any interest.

Once the six of them had arrived at school, they all went about their usual business of rummaging through their lockers for the required books and stationary for class. As expected, Simon and Jeanette left before the rest of them and headed in opposite directions. Alvin and Brittany, seeing the opportunity, seized the initiative and approached Theodore and Eleanor to ask them for help with the plan.

"Wait up guys." Alvin said as he and Brittany approached, noticing they were finished with their lockers.

"Elle, Theo, we need your help to get Simon and Jeanette back together." Brittany said.

"What kinda 'help'?" Eleanor asked becoming suspicious, aiming the question mainly at Alvin.

"We need you guys to get Simon and Jeanette to meet up together." Alvin explained, "But we can't ask them because they won't listen."

"Okay, we'll help." Theodore agreed happily.

"Wait, why are we asking them to meet up?" Eleanor asked curiously. "Wouldn't that just cause them to fight?"

"Don't worry, it's all part of Alvin's plan." Brittany reassured. "All you need to do is tell them that the other wants to apologize."

"Then they will meet up and realise how stupid they've been and make up with each other." Alvin explained.

"Sounds like a good plan." Theodore said happily, looking forward to getting Simon and Jeanette back together.

"Where do we get them to meet up?" Eleanor asked.

"The gymnasium, there won't be anyone in there on a Friday afternoon." Brittany replied.

"When?" Eleanor questioned.

"After school, three o'clock sharp." Alvin answered.

"Okay, we'll do it." Eleanor said accepting the request. "We'll ask them at lunchtime."

"Great, thanks you two." Alvin replied gratefully.

Theodore and Eleanor left to go to class, leaving Alvin and Brittany together at the lockers.

"Step one of the plan is complete." Alvin said confidently.

"Do you think we did the right thing?" Brittany asked.

"Sure, the plan is working isn't it?" Alvin answered.

"I mean about not telling Theo and Elle the full details of the plan." Brittany explained, her conscience getting the better of her.

"If we told them the whole story they probably wouldn't have agreed to help." Alvin reasoned, "Besides, it's for the best."

Alvin put his arm around Brittany, trying to reassure her that it was the right thing to do.

"Well, I guess you're right." Brittany agreed after some thought, she put her arm around Alvin in a similar fashion. She had faith in him and knew that he would sort out this whole predicament for them somehow.

At lunchtime, Alvin and Brittany sat together and were joined by Theodore and Eleanor. The four of them ate their lunches before getting down to business and discussing the plan to reunite Simon and Jeanette.

"Are you two ready?" Brittany asked.

"Ready as we'll ever be." Eleanor replied.

"Remember; don't let them know that we're involved." Alvin reminded.

"Okay." Theodore agreed.

The two of them made their separate ways to Simon and Jeanette's tables. Alvin and Brittany made sure that they didn't look over at them while Theodore and Eleanor were asking. They wanted their involvement to be minimal, to avoid raising any suspicions about their role in the plan.

Theodore approached Simon and joined him at the table, trying as hard as possible not to look as if he had been sent over.

"Simon?" Theodore said, trying to get his attention in the best possible manner.

"What is it Theo?" Simon asked.

"Jeanette said that she wants to apologise." Theodore answered.

"Really?" Simon asked curiously.

"Yes, she said that you were right to be mad and she wants to apologise for all that has happened." Theodore explained.

"She's finally come to her senses." Simon replied looking smug.

"She wants to meet up at the gymnasium after school." Theodore added.

"Why the gymnasium?" Simon quizzed. Theodore shrugged in reply, how should he know, he's just the messenger. Simon frowned as he thought about it for a second before deciding that he would go. "Okay, I'll go to the gymnasium after school." Simon agreed.

"Thanks Simon," Theodore replied, "We'll all be a team again."

Theodore left Simon's table and headed back to his own with a smile on his face. He returned to the table to find that Alvin and Brittany had left while he was talking to Simon. Slightly confused, Theodore decided to wait for Eleanor to return rather than look for Alvin and Brittany.

Eleanor was talking to Jeanette over on another table.

"Simon wants to apologise for accusing you of having feelings for Alvin and not him." Eleanor explained.

"He really wants to apologise?" Jeanette asked slightly surprised.

"Yes, he wants to meet up after school to apologise in private." Eleanor continued.

"I thought he would be too stubborn to apologise." Jeanette said.

"I guess he finally realised what he is doing and wants to stop it." Eleanor reasoned.

"I did say that I'd forgive him." Jeanette agreed.

"So, will you meet up with him?" Eleanor asked.

"Yes, I will." Jeanette replied.

"Great, he said to meet him in the gymnasium after school." Eleanor added.

"Okay, I'll be there." Jeanette replied.

"Thanks Jen," Eleanor said as she left the table to rejoin Theodore and the others.

On heading back to their table, Alvin and Brittany were no longer there; just Theodore sat on his own.

"Where did Alvin and Brittany go?" Eleanor asked as she joined him at the table.

"I don't know. They were gone when I got back." Theodore replied.

"Maybe they don't want Simon and Jeanette to see them." Eleanor suggested.

"They both took their lunch trays with them, so I guess they aren't coming back." Theodore added observantly.

"How did talking with Simon go?" Eleanor asked hopefully.

"Great, he agreed to go and wasn't too suspicious about it." Theodore replied happily.

"That's perfect, Jeanette agreed too, so the two of them will meet up and apologise." Eleanor added.

"We need to go and find Alvin and Brittany to tell them the good news." Theodore said.

"Let's go." Eleanor agreed, grabbing her lunch tray.

The two of them returned their lunch trays to the cafeteria before beginning to track down Alvin and Brittany. They searched around the school for what must have been ten minutes or so, before stumbling across the two of them at their lockers. Alvin and Brittany were getting their belongings from their lockers as it was almost time for class, Theodore and Eleanor had been searching for so long that they had lost track of the time. The two of them scurried over to the lockers to tell Alvin and Brittany the good news.

"There you are," Theodore said as they approached slightly out of breath.

"We wondered where you disappeared to." Eleanor added.

"We didn't want Simon and Jeanette to catch on, so we left." Alvin explained.

"So, how did it go?" Brittany asked.

"Perfect, we convinced the two of them to meet up and they weren't too suspicious about it." Eleanor replied.

"The plan is working," Brittany said sounding slightly surprised.

"Of course it is, _I_ thought of it." Alvin said with an air of confidence. Brittany rolled her eyes at his boasting.

"The important thing is that the whole plan works." Eleanor reminded.

"Yeah, what's next?" Theodore asked excitedly.

"We all need to meet up in the gymnasium to make sure they both turn up." Alvin announced.

"So make sure you get there as quickly as possible after school." Brittany encouraged.

"Okay, we'll be there." Eleanor reassured.

"I guess we'd better head to class." Alvin suggested as he looked at a clock on the wall.

"See you guys after school," Brittany said as she left.

"Make sure you two are there as early as possible." Alvin reminded as he left them and walked down the hallway to his next class.

"I hope the plan works," Eleanor said. "It'll be great for the six of us to be back as a team again."

"It'll work; Alvin always has a trick up his sleeve." Theodore replied confidently. The two of them parted ways and headed off to their next classes, both excited about the next stage of the plan.

As soon as the final school bell rang at 3pm, Alvin shot out of class and raced to the gymnasium. The jocks were following him after the class, trying to find out what he was in such a hurry for, and to try and intimidate him as usual. Little did Ryan and the jocks know; Alvin was using them as part of his master plan. On arriving at the gymnasium Alvin managed to lose the tailing jocks and slip into the room unnoticed. He was there early enough to set up the next part of the plan before anyone else arrived.

A couple of minutes later, Brittany arrived and joined Alvin just as he had completed the finishing touches on his 'final stage' of the plan.

"All set?" Brittany asked as she approached.

"Yep." Alvin replied as he stood back and admired his handiwork.

"Did you know the jocks are out there?" Brittany asked, expecting Alvin to panic or at least react nervously.

"They're still there?" Alvin replied, "Good."

This response confused Brittany, she was completely stumped, why would Alvin want the jocks hanging around?

"Have you seen Theo and Elle yet?" Alvin asked.

"No. Not yet." Brittany replied looking over to the entrance to the gymnasium.

Just at that moment the door to the room opened and Theodore and Eleanor entered.

"The jocks are all hanging around out there." Theodore said nervously.

"I think they're looking for you, Alvin." Eleanor added.

"I know, it's part of the plan," Alvin reassured.

"It's a bit of a risky 'part'." Brittany replied, not approving of the use of the jocks.

"It's all part of the trap, trust me." Alvin encouraged.

"Trap?" Eleanor questioned. "What trap?"

"Did I say trap?" Alvin replied realising he had accidentally revealed that part of the plan.

"Has anyone seen Simon or Jeanette?" Brittany interrupted trying to change the subject.

Luckily at that moment, Jeanette entered the gymnasium and walked over to join them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jeanette asked curiously.

"We thought we'd wait here for you." Brittany said.

"Plus, the jocks are looking for me." Alvin added.

"Yeah, I noticed." Jeanette replied.

"Speaking of jocks, I think you should keep out of sight so that they don't catch on and try to ruin the whole apologising thing." Alvin suggested.

"What?" Jeanette said puzzled.

"They won't see you in here." Alvin said as he ushered her into a store room. The door was open, and the room was mostly empty, just a couple of dodge balls lay around covered in dust.

"Theo, Elle, go and wait by the door to check if the jocks are coming." Alvin suggested.

The two of them walked over to the entrance of the gymnasium and met Simon, who had just arrived. They directed him over to Alvin and Brittany, who were stood next to the store room door.

"What are you guys doing here?" Simon asked suspiciously.

"We're just here to make sure the jocks don't get in the way." Alvin explained.

"Somehow I doubt that." Simon replied.

"Jeanette's waiting for you in there," Alvin said, "So the jocks won't spot you."

"They seem more interested in finding you." Simon replied as he walked into the store room and joined Jeanette.

The two of them stood in silence waiting for the other to apologise.

"Well." Simon urged impatiently.

"Well." Jeanette said, also waiting for an apology.

"Are you going to apologise?" Simon asked.

"I thought you were going to apologise." Jeanette replied.

"Now." Alvin shouted, signalling the next part of his plan.

He and Brittany both pushed the door to the store room as hard as they could. The doorstop holding the door open dislodged and the door slammed shut on the hinge mechanism. As soon as the door shut, the lock turned and trapped Simon and Jeanette inside the room together in total darkness.

"Yes, it worked." Brittany said.

"You sound surprised." Alvin replied confidently.

"What are you doing?" Eleanor shouted to the two of them, as she and Theodore raced over from the gymnasium door.

"It's okay." Brittany replied in an attempt to reassure her sister.

"No it's not, you locked them in there, how do we get them out?" Eleanor responded frantically.

"I don't know." Alvin said making his voice louder and leaning close to the store room door. "I guess there's no way of opening the door."

"What do we do?" Theodore asked nervously.

"Shh..." Alvin hushed, waving them away from the store room and in the general direction of the exit of the gymnasium.

"But..." Eleanor started, before having her sister's hand placed across her mouth to keep her quiet.

The four of them walked away, Eleanor being dragged away, out of hearing range of Simon and Jeanette. They resided in a corner of the hall on a bench and waited for the situation to unfold.

"Help us," Jeanette said knocking on the door. "We can't open the door."

"Good grief." Simon said, "They trapped us in here on purpose."

"Is anyone there? Hello?" Jeanette shouted, starting to panic.

"They've gone. Alvin planned this from the start." Simon explained.

"What do we do?" Jeanette asked sounding really scared. "I don't like the dark, anything could be in it."

Jeanette started banging on the store room door frantically, out of desperation more than anything.

"Calm down." Simon said in an attempt to stop Jeanette from panicking.

"But we're trapped." Jeanette said, becoming upset, "And it's really dark."

"Well we won't get out by panicking." Simon said trying to calm her down. He felt his way over to Jeanette and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"What's that?" Jeanette said jumping out of her skin.

"It's okay, it's only me." Simon said.

"That's a relief." Jeanette said, on knowing that Simon was there for her.

"We can't do anything until our eyes adjust, we'll just have to wait until then." Simon said taking control of the situation.

"Thanks Simon," Jeanette replied appreciating him being so caring after all they had been through. "I'm sorry for all the misunderstandings I've caused these last couple of days."

"Thanks." Simon replied. "I'm sorry for accusing you of liking Alvin instead of me."

"Apology accepted," Jeanette said hugging him.

"Yours too." Simon replied hugging her back.

The two of them continued to hug for a long time, as they righted all their wrongs.

"Let's never fight again." Jeanette said happily.

"Agreed." Simon replied. "It was stupid of us to fight."

"We were just caught up in the whole competition thing." Jeanette added. "We weren't thinking straight."

"But now that we are, we need to work out a way of opening that door." Simon replied.

By now their eyes had adjusted to the darkness and they were able to figure out where the door handle was. Simon jumped up onto the door handle and examined the lock; there was a latch that needed to be turned for the door to open. Simon attempted to turn the latch but it was too heavy.

"I think we need to turn the latch to open the door. But I can't do it on my own." Simon explained.

"Oh, okay." Jeanette said nervously.

"Jump up." Simon said, "Don't worry, I'll catch you."

Jeanette jumped up to the handle but slipped as she landed on it. Simon grabbed her hand out of pure instinct and pulled her up to safety.

"Are you alright?" Simon asked caringly.

"I am now." Jeanette replied.

"Okay, we need to hold the latch open." Simon explained. "Ready?"

"Ready." Jeanette answered.

"Go." Simon shouted. The two of them managed to turn the latch enough to open the lock. But it was spring loaded.

"If we let go the door will lock again." Simon explained, as he positioned himself between the door frame and the latch. "When I open the door, jump out through the gap."

"But you might get shut in." Jeanette said, concerned for his safety.

"It's okay, trust me." Simon reassured. "Ready. Go!"

Simon levered the door open enough for Jeanette to squeeze through. As soon as she escaped through the door she used her initiative, grabbing the doorstop and quickly positioning it between the door and the door frame. The door was safely propped open. Simon let go of the door because he was exhausted, he expected it to close and seal him in, but it didn't.

"Simon?" Jeanette asked, wondering if he was alright.

"Wow. That was quick thinking." Simon replied. "It was genius."

"Thanks, we work best as a team." She added happily.

On seeing the two of them escape, the others rushed over to see what had happened.

"Are you two alright?" Eleanor asked, concerned about them.

"Yeah, we're fine." Jeanette replied happily.

"No thanks to Alvin," Simon added, annoyed at his brother for trapping the two of them.

"Hey, the plan worked didn't it?" Alvin said noticing that Simon and Jeanette were holding hands.

"You two do look happier." Brittany agreed.

"Are you back together again?" Theodore asked hopefully.

"Yeah, we realised what we were doing was foolish, and we work better together than apart." Simon explained.

"It was all because of my plan." Alvin announced, attempting to take every shred of credibility on offer.

"Okay, fine, it was all because of your plan. Happy now." Simon said, in an attempt to shut Alvin up.

"So, do you think we can work as a team for the competition?" Brittany asked.

"Definitely," Simon replied confidently. "As long as Alvin can captain the team properly."

"Hey, I got us this far." Alvin protested.

Dave entered the gymnasium and walked over to the six of them.

"There you are. I was wondering where you had gone." Dave said.

"How did you find us?" Theodore asked.

"Well, a huge clue was the crowd of 'jocks' outside the gymnasium." Dave replied.

"Are they still there?" Brittany asked.

"No, they scattered when they saw me coming," Dave explained. "Somehow I knew they would be after you, Alvin."

"Who isn't?" Alvin joked; the others all rolled their eyes.

"Well, I'm glad the six of you are all safe," Dave said. "Let's head home. It's way past the end of school."

The six of them left the gymnasium with Dave and returned home as a team, working together as a unit ready to defeat the jocks in the competition.

Later that evening the Chipmunks and Chipettes were sat in the living room chilling out, Dave was making dinner in the kitchen and was nearly finished.

"I'm so glad you guys made up," Theodore said happily, looking in Simon and Jeanette's direction.

"So are we." Simon replied.

"It just didn't feel right being apart." Jeanette admitted.

"Now that the whole team is reunited we can start focussing on the competition." Eleanor said.

"I'm not looking forward to Round one." Simon said.

"Don't worry Simon. Alvin will help us. He's good at dodge ball." Theodore encouraged. "Right Alvin?"

Alvin sat watching television, not even noticing the ongoing conversation, let alone the question from Theodore. Brittany nudged him and got his attention.

"Alvin." Brittany nagged.

"What?" He replied sounding annoyed, before turning and looking at the others who were now sat staring at him, waiting for a response.

"Oh. Yeah, sure." Alvin replied vaguely, trying to disguise the fact that he didn't hear the question.

"We'll win the competition; it'll be a team effort." Eleanor encouraged.

"We can't lose if we work together." Jeanette added.

"And with Alvin as captain, those jocks won't stand a chance." Theodore said happily.

"As long as Brittany can keep him in line." Simon added. "Right Brittany?"

Alvin nudged Brittany to get her attention away from the television. She frowned at him, annoyed that he was stopping her from doing what she wanted.

"What?" Brittany replied sounding annoyed.

"Pay attention." Alvin replied smugly, with a grin on his face.

Brittany suddenly noticed that the others were now waiting for a response from her. She scowled at Alvin, irritated because he was trying to make her look ignorant, before responding to their question.

"Yeah, of course." Brittany replied, smiling at them.

"What was the question?" Alvin asked Brittany, blatantly knowing that she didn't know.

"Shut up Alvin." She replied punching him on the arm.

"Ouch." Alvin replied rubbing his arm.

"It'll be more painful when you play dodge ball." Brittany said smirking at him.

"We'll be fine, right guys?" Alvin reassured.

"I hope so," Theodore said.

"We just need a little practise." Simon added.

"Maybe we should do some training. After all, we don't want to be beaten by the jocks." Alvin suggested.

"It would prepare us for the event." Simon agreed.

"We can help you train." Eleanor volunteered.

"Yeah, you'll need someone to practise against." Jeanette agreed.

"First thing tomorrow we need to start training." Alvin suggested.

"Dinner's ready," Dave shouted from the kitchen as he brought the meals through to the dining table. "Come and get it."

The six of them raced through to the dining table, starving after the day's eventfulness. They all sat down with Dave for a great looking meal of spaghetti and meatballs.

Dave sat at the end of the table with a smile on his face, watching them eat their dinner. It was good to see the six of them happy again, and by the looks of things they all had their appetites back as well. They all finished their dinners in record time and were ready to leave the table, when Dave decided to make an announcement.

"Hold on guys." Dave said stopping them leaving the table.

"What is it?" Alvin said.

"I just wanted to tell you all about the latest developments of our tour of England." Dave explained

"Developments?" Brittany asked.

"Well, I'm just putting the finishing touches on the concerts." Dave said.

"How many venues are we playing?" Simon asked.

"We have four listed, but I'm still organising the musicians." Dave replied.

"So we're definitely going?" Brittany asked.

"Yep." Dave answered.

"Yay. It'll be so much fun." Eleanor said happily.

"Our first tour." Brittany added.

"I see you're looking forward to it." Dave said.

"Of course." Brittany replied.

"It'll be a new experience," Jeanette added.

"Don't forget us." Alvin interrupted. "We're the headline act."

"Alvin." Brittany scorned feeling slightly insulted. Alvin thought about what he had just said and decided to keep quiet.

"Well, the tour is almost organised, so make sure that you're ready for it." Dave said.

The six of them left the table and went to chill out around the house; there was a buzz of excitement after the tour developments being revealed. Dave had worked as hard as he could for the past week getting the tour back on track, after the interview fiasco there was some serious work to be done, but Dave somehow pulled it off, and now the Chipmunks and Chipettes tour of England was scheduled and going ahead as planned.

Later that night, the six of them decided to turn in early to get some extra sleep in preparation for the training for the competition. Although they all needed the sleep, they were too excited because of the tour and the competition fast approaching.

"I can't sleep guys." Theodore said.

"You'll have to try." Simon replied, "We need it ready for training tomorrow."

"What kind of training will it be?" Theodore asked.

"Practise matches and stuff." Alvin answered.

"As long as it's not too rough." Brittany added, worried about getting hurt.

"Where are we going to train?" Eleanor asked curiously.

"And what about equipment?" Jeanette added.

"How about the gymnasium?" Alvin suggested. "Dr Rubin did say that Dave had 24/7 access."

"It would be ideal; it _is_ where the event will be taking place." Simon agreed.

"We just have to ask Dave." Theodore said.

"We'll have to train for all the events if we want to win." Simon added, thinking ahead to the other rounds of the competition.

"As long as we do we'll easily win." Alvin agreed confidently.

"And after we do we've got the tour of England to look forward to." Brittany said excitedly.

"It's going to be so much fun." Eleanor added, looking forward to their first tour abroad.

"I'm so excited." Jeanette said happily.

"It's not just fun and games." Simon warned, "There's a lot of hard work involved."

"You wouldn't know about it though," Alvin said, "After all, it's your first real tour."

"It's still fun, even with the hard work." Theodore reassured, trying to ease the Chipettes' minds about the tour.

"Plus, there isn't really that much pressure on the three of you." Alvin added. "We already have a huge fan base and we have to perform our best to please them all. You only have a small fan base, so it's not so bad."

"But, this is your big chance to establish yourselves as major rock stars." Simon continued. "No pressure."

"Sure." Brittany replied sarcastically.

"Well we're going to have fun, and if we build up a fan base while we're doing it, then it'll be great." Eleanor reasoned.

"That's the attitude to have; it'll relieve the pressure on you to perform." Simon encouraged.

"It'll be great, we'll all be singing together and we'll be there to help you." Theodore reassured.

"Thanks guys." Eleanor said, appreciating the support from the three of them.

The six of them slowly drifted off to sleep, the Chipettes happy to know that the Chipmunks would be there to help them every step of the way. As for the training, they all face an uphill battle to be prepared in time for the competition.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. Please review :)**

**Next chapter will be updated quicker than the last.**


	17. Dodge Ball Dummy Run

**Sorry for the delay, I worked extra hard on this chapter. Enjoy**

* * *

Saturday, time for training, two days until the competition begins and time is ticking. Not wasting a moment of daylight, Alvin leaped up out of bed and slid down the ladders from his bunk. Upon landing on the ground, he noticed that no one else was awake.

"Come on guys, you're all burning daylight." Alvin said attempting to disturb them into waking up.

There was still no movement, they were all sound asleep and enjoying their lie-in at the weekend.

"You can sleep when you're dead." Alvin said waiting for an answer. "Fine, you asked for it."

Alvin jumped up onto the dresser at the entrance of the bedroom, and walked over to the alarm clock.

"Last chance," Alvin said looking at each of them, and hovering over the alarm button on the clock.

After seeing that no one was going to get up, Alvin stamped his foot down on the alarm button and hastily vacated the bedroom. Leaving the others to put up with the alarm first thing in the morning, one of them would have to get up to turn it off. Alvin chuckled to himself, knowing that this would annoy someone into getting up.

On entering the living room area, Alvin was surprised to see Dave sat at the table, reading a newspaper and eating his breakfast.

"Wow, you're up early." Dave said, noticing Alvin emerge from the direction of the bedroom.

"So are you." Alvin replied.

"Well, I have a lot of work to do." Dave explained.

"But it's a Saturday." Alvin informed him, assuming that he had forgotten.

"The world doesn't stop because it's the weekend." Dave replied, "Besides, the competition is coming up soon. I've got to prepare the publicity side of it."

Alvin jumped up onto the table and joined Dave for breakfast.

"Any spare toast?" Alvin asked, seeing that Dave had a few pieces on his plate.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom the five remaining chipmunks were stirring from their sleep, the alarm was very loud and very annoying.

"Someone turn that alarm off," Brittany said burying her head in her pillow.

Simon stumbled out of bed half asleep and made his way across to the alarm clock.

"What was the idea of waking us up with the alarm?" Simon said.

"We usually get a lie-in at weekends." Theodore added.

"Alvin doesn't care," Brittany said, "If he wants us to get up he'll make us get up."

"We do have training today." Jeanette reminded.

"Good grief, it's only 7:15am," Simon said loudly.

"Too early," Brittany replied, pulling the quilt over her head.

"Well, we better get up, we have training to do," Simon said regrettably.

Theodore got out of bed slowly, still feeling tired and struggling to wake himself up. He and Simon went into to bathroom, leaving the chipettes in bed. Jeanette and Eleanor were getting up but in a very slow manner, they hadn't gotten enough beauty sleep. Brittany was still trying to go back to sleep after the rude awakening of the alarm, and refused to get up.

After a couple of minutes, Simon and Theodore returned to the bedroom to change into their clothes. By now, Jeanette and Eleanor were out of bed and on their feet, stood in the middle of the room still waking up. The two of them trailed over to the bathroom to freshen up.

Brittany was still lying in bed wanting to get some more sleep. Alvin was a little too enthusiastic in her opinion; it wasn't as if an extra hour in bed would hurt.

"You've got to get up, Brittany." Simon said.

"Why?" Brittany replied.

"We have to start our training." Theodore explained.

Brittany didn't answer to this; she was trying to postpone the inevitable.

"We'll send Alvin in to wake you up if you don't." Simon cautioned.

"Send him in, he can't stop me sleeping." Brittany replied, calling Simon's bluff.

The two of them left the bedroom and went to join Alvin and Dave at the breakfast table.

Soon after, Jeanette and Eleanor joined them; leaving Brittany alone in the bedroom to get some well needed sleep. Or so she thought, no sooner had Jeanette and Eleanor left the bedroom Alvin entered ready to get her out of bed.

He sneaked up to the bunk beds and jumped up onto her bed without making a sound, Brittany blissfully unaware of Alvin being there. She was trying to get comfortable, snuggling down into her bed in an attempt to go back to sleep.

Seeing Brittany trying to go back to sleep gave Alvin an idea, holding back his laughter he lay down near her and continued looking in her direction. Brittany, still not comfortable, turned over and was now facing Alvin. She still had her eyes closed and had not noticed that he was there.

Alvin cleared his throat quietly, prompting Brittany to open her eyes out of curiosity as to what the noise was. Upon opening her eyes she screamed out of shock, Alvin was lying directly next to her, his face right in front of hers. Brittany nearly jumped out of her skin, the shocked look on her face as she sat up in bed set Alvin off laughing.

"Not funny Alvin!" Brittany shouted at him angrily.

"You should have seen the look on your face." Alvin replied, still laughing at the spectacle.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," Brittany replied becoming moody, "Now I'll never be able to get back to sleep."

"Good." Alvin replied smugly.

Brittany growled before throwing the quilt over his head and storming off to the bathroom.

On hearing the scream, Simon and Theodore ran to the bedroom to see what was wrong. Brittany marched past them, not looking happy, before they continued to the bedroom to find Alvin.

Alvin was still laughing with the quilt over his head when his brothers arrived in the bedroom. Wondering what was so funny, the two of them climbed up to Brittany's bed to find Alvin lying there. Alvin pulled the quilt off his head to see Simon and Theodore stood looking at him. Theodore had a confused look on his face, while Simon was frowning knowing that Alvin had been up to something.

"I know this is as much of my business as the next man, but what was going on in here?" Simon asked bluntly.

"Just a little joke, that's all." Alvin replied.

"Why are you in Brittany's bed?" Theodore asked innocently.

"Yes Alvin. Why?" Simon reiterated.

"It's not what it looks like," Alvin replied.

"As much as I would like to speculate what happened, we came to check if Brittany was alright." Simon said.

"She's fine, just a little grumpy that's all," Alvin replied chuckling to himself.

Simon frowned at him knowing that he had done something to annoy Brittany.

"Don't go teasing her too much," Simon reminded, "You two don't want to fall out again."

This brought a serious look to Alvin's face; he had worked so hard to get back with Brittany and could lose her again because of some tomfoolery. He didn't want to upset her again, it could cause another problem for the team, plus Brittany would decide that she was wrong about taking him back.

"You're right," Alvin replied, "I'll make sure she's alright when she comes back."

Theodore smiled knowing that he had helped Alvin become a better person towards Brittany.

Simon and Theodore left the bedroom, and Alvin waited for Brittany to return from the bathroom. He jumped down from the bunk bed and stood in the middle of the room, mulling over what Simon had said.

Brittany walked into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around her; she looked as if she had been for a shower. She spotted Alvin and frowned at him.

"Are you still here?" She said in an uncaring manner.

"I wanted to see if you were okay," Alvin replied caringly.

"I'm fine, no thanks to you." Brittany answered sharply.

"I know. I'm sorry." Alvin said, "I let my immature side get the better of me."

"Well, it still wasn't a nice thing to do." Brittany added.

"I'm still sorry," Alvin replied smiling and holding his arms out stretched.

He walked over and hugged her in an attempt to make her feel better. Brittany felt obliged to hug him back; he was trying to be more caring, he really was.

The two of them finished hugging and let go of each other. Brittany, forgetting about wearing a towel, dropped it and had to scramble to cover herself up again. Alvin closed his eyes and covered them with his hands.

"I'm not looking," he said, backpedalling before tripping over the rug and falling on the floor.

Brittany giggled as she recomposed herself; Alvin fell flat on his back in the middle of the floor.

"Ouch, that wasn't funny." Alvin said.

"It wasn't?" Brittany replied. "You weren't the one watching."

Alvin got back to his feet and rubbed his back.

"Stupid rug." He said kicking it in annoyance.

Brittany continued to giggle as Alvin frowned at her, her laugh was so contagious.

"Comeuppance." Brittany commented.

Alvin rolled his eyes, he knew he deserved it and Brittany was enjoying every second.

"I'll let you get changed." Alvin said leaving the room.

"Thanks Alvin," She replied, appreciating the respect that he was attempting to show and how he was concerned about her well being.

The six of them were all sat down at the table having breakfast with Dave. It was still fairly early in the morning, giving them time to relax and have a decent meal before training.

"Have you asked Dave yet?" Simon asked Alvin.

"No, I've been busy," Alvin replied, making up excuses.

"Well, hurry up and ask," Simon said, "We're running out of time for training."

Alvin turned to see what Dave was doing; he was just finishing his breakfast and had put his newspaper away.

"Umm, Dave?" Alvin asked, attempting to get his attention.

"Yes Alvin," Dave replied. He sounded like he was in a good mood; this was the perfect time for Alvin to ask him.

"We were all wondering if we could use the school gymnasium for our training." Alvin explained.

"Can't you train here, at home?" Dave suggested, "I have work to do."

"We just thought that we could use your 24/7 access to the school to our advantage." Alvin continued.

"But if Dave thinks it's best for us to practise _dodge ball_ here, then we should." Simon said, giving Dave something to think about.

He didn't want Alvin throwing things around the house, let alone using dodge balls. For the sake of the house it would be safer to get the six of them away from home to train. After thinking through what he had said, Dave came up with the perfect solution.

"I suppose I could take my work with me." Dave said.

"So can we go?" Theodore asked.

"Yes, but on one condition." Dave replied.

"Condition?" Alvin asked.

"You have to wear your sports gear." Dave said, "Then I can do my work at the gymnasium."

"Sure, it'll be fun." Theodore agreed.

"It'll be like a dummy run of the main event." Simon added. "Same uniforms, same venue, it'll prepare us for round one."

"Good, I'm glad you agree." Dave said. "We should get ready to go. I'll just get my work and then we can set off for the gymnasium."

Dave left the table, taking the plates with him and went into the kitchen.

"Yes. We can train in the gymnasium." Alvin said.

"But, why do we have to wear our sports stuff?" Brittany asked.

"Dave will have a good reason for it." Simon replied.

"We should go get our sports stuff." Theodore suggested. "We don't want to waste time."

The six of them left the table and got all of their sportswear from the bedroom. They met up with Dave at the front door; he had just gotten his briefcase from the music room and was ready to go.

"All set guys?" Dave asked.

"Yep." Theodore replied happily.

"Let's go," Alvin said urging them all to hurry up and leave.

"Okay." Dave replied, letting the six of them out through the front door and into the back seat of his car.

He loaded up the car with his briefcase and they headed off to the gymnasium.

Dave drove the car into the school parking lot and parked in his own personalised space. It was strange for the six of them to be at school on a Saturday. There was no one about and it was very quiet, no signs of activity in or around the school. Dave got out of the car and opened the back door for the six of them to get out. He then retrieved his briefcase form the trunk of the car before closing the car doors and heading for the school entrance with the others.

"Make sure you wear your sports gear, guys." Dave reminded, "It's a test run to see how you can perform in them."

"Sure thing Dave," Simon agreed, the others nodded in approval.

Dave got out his keys and opened the door to the school, the hallways looked strange being empty, there was always someone using them. They all continued to the gymnasium and Dave unlocked the door for them all to begin their training.

"I'll open the storeroom for you so you can use the equipment." Dave suggested.

"Can you unlock the changing rooms?" Brittany asked. "We do need to get changed into our sports stuff."

"Sure thing." Dave replied.

The six of them grabbed their sports clothes and went to get changed once Dave had unlocked the doors.

By the time they emerged from the changing rooms, Dave was sat in a corner of the gymnasium with his briefcase open and all his paperwork out.

"Let's get training," Alvin said enthusiastically.

They all followed his lead in entering the storeroom and retrieving some dodge balls. The dodge balls were then placed in a line in the centre of the gymnasium, ready for the game to begin.

"Now what?" Brittany asked.

"We split into teams." Alvin replied. "How about boys vs. Girls?"

"That seems a bit unfair," Simon said.

"Because we're too good?" Brittany replied.

"We'll soon see about that." Alvin commented.

The six of them split up into teams of three: Alvin, Simon and Theodore on one, and Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor on the other. They each grabbed a dodge ball and made their ways to their sides of the court.

"Ready?" Alvin asked.

"Ready as we'll ever be." Brittany answered.

"Okay. Go!" Alvin said picking up a dodge ball and throwing it in Brittany's direction.

Brittany saw the dodge ball bearing down on her fast, and ducked down out of pure instinct. The ball took a lucky bounce and went over her head by the narrowest of margins.

"Not so hard!" Brittany complained.

Alvin looked at her and grinned, he knew she would be annoyed with him. After all, he threw it hard deliberately. But before he could reply, Brittany had thrown a dodge ball back at him and it was a fairly accurate shot. Alvin dived out of the way, narrowly avoiding being hit.

"Not bad," Alvin said, "But you missed."

"So did you." Brittany answered back.

Alvin frowned; he didn't want to be seem as second best and was determined to make his next throw a good one.

"Come on guys, join in." Alvin encouraged.

"We're all here to practise." Brittany added.

"Okay, but I don't want to cause any injuries." Simon replied.

"There's not much chance of that happening." Alvin mocked.

"It's a pity that you aren't on the other team. I'd prove you wrong." Simon replied becoming annoyed with Alvin's arrogance.

"Come on Jen." Brittany encouraged. "Give it a shot."

"Okay, but I'm not too good at this sort of thing." Jeanette replied as she picked up a dodge ball.

Simon stood ready at the other side of the court waiting for the throw. Jeanette tried her best to throw the ball but it ended up being more of a bowling throw than anything. As the ball approached, Simon calmly sidestepped out of the way and let it roll harmlessly past. In return, Simon picked up a ball and bounced it in Jeanette's direction. The shot was a good one and was on target to land on her, but she kept her head and took a step back to avoid being hit. The ball bounced right in front of her and went clean over her head.

"You two are too nerdy," Alvin commented. "Even when you're playing dodge ball you hardly move."

"I believe it was well calculated, not 'nerdy'." Simon replied defensively.

"Besides, that's a plus point for the team." Brittany added. "It could come in handy against the jocks."

Simon looked at Alvin with a smug look on his face, knowing that Alvin wasn't capable of using his mind to overcome the situation.

"Okay, your turn Elle." Brittany said turning to her sister.

Eleanor grabbed one of the dodge balls and launched it at Theodore. He attempted to get out of the way but was too slow to move off the spot. The ball hit him and knocked him off his feet, landing on his back at the edge of the court.

"Ouch." Theodore said as he sat up.

"Theo! Are you alright?" Eleanor said rushing over to see if he was okay.

"I'm okay." He replied rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it." Eleanor apologised.

"It's okay." He reassured her.

"Well, I can see that dodging isn't your strong point." Alvin said. "Maybe you can throw better."

Eleanor returned to the opposite side of the court and Theodore picked himself up ready to throw. He picked up a ball and threw it as hard as he could. Theodore's throw was a good one; it was powerful and accurate, directly on target. Eleanor didn't get out of the way of the throw and was hit by it. The only difference between hers and Theodore's hit was that she blocked the ball. Eleanor somehow managed to stop the ball and hold onto it without falling over.

"Are you okay?" Jeanette asked, cringing at the impact of the ball.

"I'm fine." She replied happily.

Alvin and Brittany both stood looking at Eleanor with surprised looks on their faces, speechless at the block she had just made. Simon stood looking across at Eleanor and then at Theodore.

"Interesting." Simon said. "It seems your strengths may lie elsewhere."

"What?" Theodore asked puzzled.

"You can throw the ball pretty good." Simon explained.

"And if you can try and block the ball like Elle then you'll do great," Jeanette continued.

"You two are of similar build, so maybe you can mimic Eleanor's blocking technique." Simon summarised.

"I'll help Theo learn how." Eleanor volunteered.

"Great, you two go and practise together," Simon proposed, "The rest of us will continue to train."

Alvin and Brittany snapped out of their awe in time to continue the training with Simon and Jeanette.

After an hour of training, the six of them decided to have a break and went over to join Dave, who was hard at work.

"Are you all having fun?" Dave asked.

"Yeah." Alvin replied.

"Is the training going alright?" Dave asked.

"As good as it can." Simon replied.

"That's good." Dave said. "Listen guys. I was wondering if you could help me with the publicity drive."

"Sure." Theodore agreed.

"I guess so." Alvin said.

"What do you need?" Simon asked.

"Well, I need to take some pictures of you training, if it's alright with you all." Dave explained.

"It's okay with me." Alvin replied.

"Well, as long as you use the good pictures." Brittany added.

"Good luck with that." Alvin said.

Brittany scowled at Alvin with a look of anger on her face.

"You are so dead." Brittany said as she attempted to catch Alvin, who had already gotten a head start. "Come back here Alvin." She shouted as she ran after him.

"I guess we'd better continue training." Simon said.

"And stop Brittany from attacking Alvin." Jeanette joked.

"Don't train too hard." Dave said.

The four of them went to train with Alvin and Brittany, while Dave took a camera from his briefcase and began to set it up. Once Dave had finished setting up the camera he began taking the pictures he needed and the chipmunks continued their training. They were looking better than when they started and Dave could see that they were enjoying the challenge. He finished taking the photos and returned to his work, sorting out the publicity for the competition.

After another half an hour or so, around 12pm, Dave decided to take a break from his work.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go get us some lunch." Dave said to the six of them. "Will you be alright on your own for a while?"

"Sure we will, we're not babies Dave." Alvin replied.

"You could have fooled me." Brittany said focussing on Alvin.

"Well make sure you behave while I'm gone," Dave said. "Especially you two." He added pointing at Alvin and Brittany.

Brittany frowned at Alvin, mainly because she was being singled out from the others as a result of Alvin's misbehaving. Alvin just looked back at her and shrugged in an innocent manner. Dave gave the two of them a stern look before exiting the gymnasium and heading to the nearest shop to pick up some lunch. The six of them continued to practise dodge ball together for a couple of minutes until the gymnasium doors reopened.

"That was quick." Simon said.

"Too quick," Alvin replied as he eyed up the figure walking through the doors.

Simon and Theodore looked across to the doors to see what Alvin meant. The two of them froze, a chill going down their spines as they realised who it was. Seeing these reactions from the chipmunks, the chipettes turned to see what they were looking at and immediately discovered the reason.

On expecting Dave to be returning with lunch, it came as a shock to the six of them to see Ryan entering the gymnasium, closely followed by a gang of jocks. With Dave out of the picture, Ryan was the last person that they wanted to come across.

"Doing some extra training?" Ryan asked.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Alvin asked.

"We were using the courts outside and saw your 'bodyguard' leaving the building." Ryan replied. "So we thought we'd pay you a little visit."

"Leave us alone." Alvin said.

"Save it for the competition." Simon added.

"Why wait?" Ryan answered, as he and his jocks approached them.

Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor backed up and moved to the chipmunks' side of the court, fearing the consequences.

"Want a match?" Ryan teased as he and the jocks stopped at the edge of the court. "It can be a dummy run of the main event."

"No way." Alvin protested.

"That's a shame. It'll just have to be target practise then." Ryan replied as he picked up a dodge ball and readied himself.

"Duck and cover, guys." Alvin warned as Ryan launched the first shot.

Alvin leapt out of the way of the throw and dodged it safely, but the other jocks had acquired some more dodge balls from the storeroom and were preparing to throw them.

"Try to get to safety." Alvin said.

Dodge balls rained down on the six of them before they had time to escape. They all began dodging as best they could after being caught off guard.

Brittany acrobatically jumped and dived to narrowly avoid two of the dodge balls consecutively, she managed to escape from the firing line and retreat to the safety of Dave's briefcase. Safety based on the fact that the jocks wouldn't want to get in trouble with Dave as he was a temporary member of staff, damaging his possessions would be trouble. But the jocks seemed more preoccupied with the rest of the chipmunks remaining on the court.

Eleanor began to run away from the line of fire and towards Brittany at the briefcase, but was stopped in her tracks by a dodge ball narrowly missing her head. The ball bounced directly in front of her, restricting her escape route. Eleanor turned to check if she was being aimed at by the jocks, and was faced with the sight of a dodge ball being hurled straight at her. Eleanor's reactions were not quick enough for her to dodge the ball and she was hit by it. Luckily, she managed to block it with her defensive reflexes, leading the jocks to believe that they had hit her.

"Direct hit." Xander said.

"One down." Ryan added.

Eleanor darted off the court and clear of the target practise of the jocks, joining Brittany in safety.

"It doesn't look like she's down." Xander corrected.

"Shut up and throw." Ryan answered back.

The jocks continued to the dodge balls but were running out rapidly, leading the bombardment to become less intense. Jeanette was the next to make a break for the safety of the briefcase, narrowly sidestepping a dodge ball as she scurried across the court. Ryan threw the next ball extra hard, giving Jeanette little time to dodge. Her calculations must have been off as she was struck by the shot and fell to the floor.

"Jeanette." Simon said as he began to rush over to her.

She slowly got to her feet looking very unsteady; dazed by the glancing blow she took from Ryan's powerful throw. Seeing his opportunity, Ryan targeted Jeanette again knowing that she was venerable. Simon noticed Ryan was taking aim at Jeanette and raced to get to her before Ryan's dodge ball could.

Once the dodge ball was launched, Simon knew that Jeanette was not going to be able to dodge it and so he dived at her, pushing her clear of the shot. In doing so, he was hit by the dodge ball full on, knocking him to the ground. Jeanette was saved from the pain inflicting throw but was still on the court.

"Simon?" Theodore asked, waiting for a response.

Simon was too groggy to reply to his brother, he just lay flat out on his back on the floor not moving a muscle. Seeing Simon lying on the floor caused Theodore to become concerned and rush over to see if he was alright, shrugging off the dodge balls being thrown at him as he ran.

"No. Look out Theo." Eleanor shouted, scared for his safety as yet another ball narrowly missed him.

"Cut it out Ryan!" Brittany yelled.

"Keep out of it, or your next." Ryan said as he turned towards Brittany, threatening to throw a ball at her.

Alvin saw this and had had enough; they had already hurt Simon and the others, he was not going to let them hurt Brittany. He picked up a dodge ball and took aim.

"Back off Ryan!" Alvin shouted as he launched the dodge ball.

All his anger was channelled into his throw and it resulted in a surprisingly powerful shot. Hearing Alvin's warning, Ryan turned to face him again to deal with him. But instead of seeing Alvin, all he saw was the red colour of a dodge ball as it smashed him in the face, knocking him off his feet. This came as a shock to everyone, chipmunks and jocks alike; the gymnasium was shrouded in silence for a brief moment. Until Ryan got up and back onto his feet, rubbing his nose in an attempt to reduce the pain.

"You'll pay for that." Ryan threatened.

"The bodyguard's back." A jock shouted as he rushed into the gymnasium from outside.

"This isn't over." Ryan added as he and his jocks left the gymnasium and retreated from the school.

Brittany and Eleanor ran over to the others to see if they were okay. Alvin also went over to Simon and the rest of them after making sure the jocks had left.

"Are you okay Jen?" Brittany asked as she helped her sister up.

"I think so." Jeanette replied swaying from side to side, not looking too steady on her feet.

"You need to sit down," Brittany suggested, guiding her over to Dave's chair. "Rest for a while."

Eleanor was seeing to Theodore, leaving Alvin to help Simon.

"Come on Simon, it can't have been that bad." Alvin joked as he dragged his brother up off the floor.

Even as groggy and disorientated as Simon was, he still managed to answer back.

"You weren't the one being hit." He replied slowly.

"I was only joking." Alvin reassured. "It was a brave thing to do."

This brought a smile to Simon's dazed face; he had proven that he wasn't such a 'nerd' after all. Alvin helped Simon over to the chair where Jeanette was sat, before going back onto the court to check on Theodore. Brittany joined him, leaving Simon and Jeanette together on Dave's chair.

"Are you okay Simon?" Jeanette asked concerned.

"I've been better." He replied.

"I'm sorry that you got hurt." Jeanette said, feeling guilty for the whole incident occurring.

"It's not your fault." Simon assured. "It's those stupid jocks."

He held his head for a moment, in an attempt to stop the slight dizziness he was feeling.

"Thanks for saving me from them." Jeanette said.

She shuffled up next to him and kissed him on the cheek. This came as a shock to Simon; he never expected Jeanette to pluck up the courage, she must have been truly grateful. The kiss soon brought Simon round from his grogginess and took his mind off his injuries. He turned to Jeanette, feeling better now that he was with her. She blushed, embarrassed about what she had just done, and realising that Simon was looking across at her. To her relief Simon smiled across at her, appreciating the sentiment, she smiled back. The two of them felt the same way as each other, they were both smart enough to pick up on this. Feelings running high, they leaned in close towards each other, but were interrupted by Dave bursting through the gymnasium doors.

"Are you guys alright?" Dave asked urgently as he rushed over to Simon and Jeanette. "I saw the jocks leaving the school and feared the worst."

"We'll live." Simon replied.

"We're just a little shaken up." Jeanette added, the two of them smiling at each other and then at Dave.

"Phew, that's a relief." Dave replied.

The others walked over to join Dave, Simon and Jeanette at the chair.

"None of you are hurt are you?" Dave asked concerned for their wellbeing.

"Simon got hit." Theodore answered.

"Are you sure that you are alright?" Dave asked Simon again.

"I'm fine." Simon reassured.

"I got Ryan back for it though." Alvin interrupted, boasting as usual.

"Is that so?" Dave questioned.

"It's true, it was a great throw." Brittany said backing Alvin up, knowing that he had done it to protect her from Ryan.

"Well it sounds promising for the competition then." Dave replied.

"Ryan was threatening Brittany, so I made sure I stopped him." Alvin explained to Dave, before winking at Brittany.

"Then you showed up and they ran away." Eleanor added.

"Good, as long as nobody was hurt." Dave said.

"Did you bring lunch?" Theodore asked, predictably hungry after all the training they had done.

"I sure did," Dave replied, picking up a grocery bag. "It sounds like you're hungry. You must have done some hard training."

"We needed to." Alvin replied.

"Plus, the jocks' ambush was the warm-up game we needed." Simon added. "We can work on our game plan now that we've seen how the jocks play."

"That sounds like a great idea." Dave agreed. "But don't overdo it on the training; you'll need to be well rested for the competition as well."

The six of them sat down and had lunch with Dave, resting up ready for their next training session.

"I can see how much you guys want to win the competition," Dave said, "But I don't think that all this training is a good idea."

"Why not?" Alvin asked.

"One of you could get injured." Dave replied.

"Dave's right, Simon has already been hurt." Jeanette agreed.

"I guess we do need some recovery time." Eleanor agreed.

"It would be for the best." Dave continued. "After all, you have done a long morning of training and faced the jocks. I think that's enough for one day, don't you?"

"Okay, we'll finish training for today." Alvin decided, giving in to Dave's reasoning. "But we still have to plan our winning strategy."

"We can do that at home." Simon suggested, understanding that Dave probably wanted to get back home to do some work.

"I guess you're right." Alvin replied reluctantly.

"Okay, we'll go back home." Dave said, "But we all need to tidy up the place and make sure it is left as we found it."

"Let's get to it." Brittany encouraged as the six of them spread out to collect the dodge balls.

There were a lot of dodge balls scattered all over the gymnasium floor, caused by the jocks' unexpected interference. After a couple of minutes of tidying up, all the balls were safely returned to the storeroom and the gymnasium was clear. Dave had used the time to collect up all his paperwork and lock the doors to the locker room.

"All set?" Dave asked.

"Yep." Theodore answered.

"Then let's go home." Dave said, leading them out of the school and to the car, locking all the doors of the school behind him.

Everyone got into the car and Dave drove them back home; fresh from their training and knowing that they had to well prepared for the match ahead.

Later that afternoon, Alvin decided to round up his brothers to discuss their approach to the dodge ball match in the first round. They all sat down in the living room and started planning for the challenge ahead.

"What's the plan of attack?" Simon asked, expecting Alvin to come up with one of his typical air brain schemes.

"Well, we have to dodge the jocks' throws as much as possible and then throw the balls back when they're not expecting it." Alvin explained.

"That sounds easy enough." Theodore commented.

"It's not really much of a plan." Simon said. "That _is _generally how the sport is played."

"Then what do you suggest?" Alvin answered back being nowty.

"I suggest a tactical approach, taking our strengths and using them to cover our weaknesses." Simon said. "A strong offense is a good defence."

"How do we do that?" Theodore asked, slightly confused by his brother's explanation.

"Yeah, how?" Alvin asked, trying to put Simon on the spot.

"Well, each one of us has our own strengths." Simon replied. "I have my well calculated movement; Theo has his ability to stop the ball.

"And I have my awesomeness." Alvin interrupted.

"Okay. We all have our weaknesses as well." Simon continued, unperturbed by Alvin's interruption. "I'm not very good at throwing the ball, so I can give you two the balls to throw."

"What about me?" Theodore asked.

"Your weakness is dodging, so you should try and catch the balls that are thrown at you." Simon replied.

"Okay, I'll try." Theodore agreed.

"And me, I don't have any weaknesses because I'm awesome." Alvin said.

"If you say so." Simon replied.

"Do you think we can win?" Theodore asked.

"We have to think positive or we won't stand a chance." Simon answered.

"We can beat the jocks." Alvin said confidently. "I'll take care of Ryan and then it'll be a piece of cake."

"I'm hungry." Theodore said being reminded of food.

"We should see if Dave can make dinner early." Simon suggested.

"And the dinner will need to be big to build up our strength." Alvin added.

"I think it depends on what you eat rather than how much." Simon began explaining.

"Whatever." Alvin answered as he walked off to find Dave.

Theodore got up from the living room couch and followed Alvin in the pursuit for food, leaving Simon sat on his own. He sighed in despair before getting up and following suit.

After a long day filled with fun and excitement, the chipmunks and chipettes all lay down in their beds to get some well earned sleep.

"So Alvin, do you have a plan for the dodge ball match yet?" Brittany asked.

"I don't need a plan." Alvin replied confidently. "I've beaten Ryan once, so I can beat him again."

"Typical." Brittany answered.

"But you _do_ have a plan right?" Eleanor asked.

"Yeah, Simon came up with it." Theodore replied.

"Then we know it's a good one." Brittany said.

"What is the plan?" Jeanette asked curiously.

"We simply cover our weaknesses with our strengths." Simon explained. "We each have a role to play within the team."

"It sounds like you're well organised." Brittany commented.

"As long as we stick to our game plan we'll be fine." Simon reassured.

"I hope so." Jeanette said.

"Yeah, we don't want you getting hurt by the jocks." Eleanor added.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine, I'm in charge." Alvin said.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Brittany commented.

Everyone laughed at Brittany's remark, everyone except Alvin; he didn't want to be regarded as a push over. He was going to prove this to Ryan on the court and this goal was going to spur him on.

The six of them slowly drifted off to sleep, helped by the training they had done in the gymnasium. They're prepared for the competition; they have the plan, they have the support, now all they need to do is win the round.

* * *

**The next chapter will be posted near christmas time.**

**Please keep writing those reviews. They are the driving force to my writing. :D**


	18. Lights, Camera, Action

**The chipmunks perpare for the first round of the competition. Can they calm their nerves for the competition?**

* * *

A beautiful morning awaits the chipmunks; the sun is out and the weather is warm. Rays of sunlight peek through the curtains of the bedroom window, stirring Alvin from his slumber and urging him to get up. He had not had the best of night's sleep, the reasons being the threat of Ryan and the approach of the first round of the competition. With the dodge ball match just a day away, this was enough of a cause for Alvin to get up and out of bed to prepare himself for the battle ahead. The others did not seem as concerned as he was about the competition, although the whole rivalry between the chipmunks and the jocks did revolve around him and not so much the others. Maybe he was becoming too immersed in the personal battle; the rivalry with Ryan was enough to help spur him on no matter what.

He woke himself up and went to the bathroom to have a wash, he emerged wearing his competition sportswear and headed to the kitchen. Alvin looked as if he meant business, not that the others would have noticed as they were still asleep.

On entering the kitchen Alvin noticed Dave; he was in his pyjamas, slowly shuffling around half asleep. He didn't notice Alvin and continued to go about his breakfast preparation. Alvin decided to join Dave for breakfast, and so jumped up onto the kitchen counter to alert him to his presence. This caused Dave to jump out of his slippers with surprise, not expecting to see Alvin up this early on a Sunday.

"Morning Dave." Alvin said.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," Dave said, "You'll give me a heart attack."

"Sorry, but you were half asleep, I couldn't help it." Alvin reasoned.

"Well don't do it again." Dave replied.

"Anyway, while you were making breakfast I thought I might join you." Alvin explained.

"Sure, but _you're _having a healthy breakfast this morning." Dave answered.

"Aww, why?" Alvin moaned.

"It's to help build up your strength for tomorrows match," Dave reasoned.

Hearing this immediately changed Alvin's mind; he wanted to beat Ryan so much, and if he could use all the advantages that came his way it would help his cause.

"Well as long as it'll boost my strength." Alvin said reluctantly.

"It'll give you sustained energy, from the carbohydrates in it." Dave added, including further incentives to persuade him. "So go and take a seat and I'll bring it through in a few minutes."

Alvin went back through to the dining table and took a seat, curious as to what the breakfast could be. But being as impatient as he is, Alvin decided to pay a visit to the bedroom to see if anyone way up yet.

As he expected everyone was still asleep, getting a well needed lie in. This gave Alvin an idea, seeing that Brittany was asleep she wouldn't know whether it was daylight outside or still dark. He sneaked um8 p to her bunk and carefully tied a blindfold around her head, making sure that she would not be able to see anything. Alvin stealthily retreated from the bedroom being extra careful not to wake anyone up, before returning to the dining table in time for his healthy breakfast.

Dave emerged from the kitchen with a bowl and a spoon, and then placed them in front of Alvin. His facial expression was a sight to behold, looking appalled at what Dave had given him.

"What's this?" Alvin said sounding disgusted.

"It's oatmeal." Dave answered. "Enjoy."

"Ha ha, very funny." Alvin replied sarcastically, folding his arms in an attempt to make Dave take the bowl away.

"I thought you would want to get a leg up on the competition." Dave said trying to lure Alvin into listening to him.

"I do." Alvin answered.

"Then you should eat it." Dave replied.

Alvin looked at the oatmeal in the bowl; it was one of the least appetising meals he had ever seen. But the thought of losing to Ryan in the competition was enough to convince him to eat the oatmeal, to gain an advantage.

"Okay, I'll eat it." Alvin said reluctantly.

"Good, it'll be beneficial to your training and nutrition." Dave added. "Are the others up yet?"

Alvin didn't reply to this, he just sniggered to himself, remembering that he had blindfolded Brittany and imagining her reaction when she finds out.

Coincidently, the chipmunks were beginning to stir; Simon was sat up in bed squinting around the room as he had not yet put his glasses on. Jeanette was also waking up and putting on her glasses to see what time it was on the digital clock.

"9:15" Jeanette said to herself out loud.

"I suppose we'd better get up." Simon suggested.

The activity in the bedroom stirred the others into getting up, knowing that Dave would be making breakfast for them they dragged their selves out of bed. Upon getting up and opening her eyes Brittany couldn't see anything, unbeknown to her Alvin had blindfolded her whilst she was asleep.

"But it's still dark," Brittany protested.

"No it's not," Eleanor replied, "the sun is out."

"Well I can't see it." Brittany answered.

"Open your eyes and stop trying to sleep then." Jeanette suggested.

"They are open." Brittany replied.

"Hurry up, Dave's making breakfast." Theodore said rushing out of the bedroom.

"What's the rush, breakfast isn't going anywhere." Simon said as he followed him out of the room.

"Come on Britt." Eleanor called up to her, waiting for her to get out of bed.

Brittany felt her way over to the edge of the bed and peered over; it was still too dark for her to see anything, or so she thought.

"Where are you guys?" Brittany asked.

Eleanor immediately burst out laughing at the sight of Brittany peering over the edge of the bed with a blindfold on. Jeanette walked over to Eleanor to see what she was laughing about and noticed Brittany. She joined in laughing; the two of them knew that the blindfold was probably Alvin's handiwork.

"What's so funny?" Brittany asked becoming annoyed.

"Nothing," Eleanor said trying to cover up her laughter.

"You have a blindfold on." Jeanette answered, honesty getting the better of her.

"What?" Brittany asked as she felt her face and discovered the blindfold.

She took it off her head and violently threw it to the floor. Jeanette and Eleanor looked at each other and knew it was time to leave, before Brittany really got angry.

"Alvin, you are so dead." Brittany said out loud.

She jumped down from her bed and marched past her sisters towards the kitchen. Jeanette and Eleanor made sure to keep out of her way and followed in her wake towards the kitchen.

"Alright, where is he?" Brittany fumed as she approached the dining table.

"Who?" Dave asked as he emerged from the kitchen.

"Alvin." She replied angrily.

"Why did I need to ask?" Dave said.

"Just in time for breakfast." Simon said flatly, as Jeanette and Eleanor jumped up onto the table.

"Huh?" Eleanor replied confused.

Dave put down two bowls in front of them.

"Eat up guys." He said before disappearing back into the kitchen.

"What's this?" Eleanor asked.

"Oatmeal." Theodore replied.

"We're having a healthy breakfast." Simon added bluntly.

"Well, it is healthy." Jeanette agreed as she eyed up the bowl.

"Brittany jumped up onto the table to join them, still fuming about Alvin's practical joke. Dave returned from the kitchen with another bowl and put it down in front of Brittany. She took one look at it and didn't like it.

"What's this?" She said looking disgusted.

"That's the exact same reaction I got from Alvin, but he ate it." Dave said.

The oatmeal had taken Brittany's mind off Alvin's trick, until Dave had mentioned him and she became annoyed again.

"So where is he now?" Brittany asked.

"I don't know." Dave replied as he sat down at the table with a cup of coffee. "He had breakfast about half an hour ago and left."

"Why are you so annoyed with him?" Simon asked curiously.

Brittany didn't answer because of a combination of anger and embarrassment.

"Alvin blindfolded her and she still thought it was night time." Eleanor explained.

Dave spat some of his coffee back in his cup, and attempted to hide his face behind a newspaper. But Brittany knew that he found it funny as did the others. Brittany turned and frowned at Eleanor, a look of thunder on her face.

"Sorry." Eleanor replied apologetically.

"It's okay." Brittany reassured. "It's Alvin's fault."

The focus again turned back to the bowls of oatmeal that lined the table in front of the chipmunks.

"It doesn't taste very nice." Theodore complained.

"Can't we sweeten it up with something?" Simon suggested.

"I guess I could find something." Dave replied, getting up and walking into the kitchen. He returned a few seconds later with a small pot. "I have some cinnamon, maybe that'll do the trick."

The cinnamon did the job, and before long there were five empty bowls. On finishing the breakfast, the five of them left the table as Dave began taking the bowls through to the kitchen, and went in search of Alvin. Brittany was at the front of the search; still annoyed about him making her look stupid. They searched all the rooms in the house but didn't find him, then as Simon was looking out of the window, he noticed that Alvin was outside doing some exercise.

"Found him." Simon said to the others as he watched Alvin exercising.

"Where is he?" Brittany demanded, beginning to get stressed.

"He's out there." Simon replied pointing through the window.

Brittany stormed over to the door and jumped on the handle to open it. The five of them headed outside to see what Alvin was up to, Brittany inevitably taking the lead.

"Alvin!" Brittany shouted as she marched over in his direction.

Alvin's ears perked up, he stopped in his tracks and turned to look in Brittany's direction; a puzzled look on his face.

"What's up?" Alvin asked innocently.

"Don't play game with me Alvin." Brittany answered back, "You know what you did."

Alvin stood looking at her, continuing to display a look of confusion on his face.

"The blindfold." Brittany reminded him.

Alvin began chuckling to himself; barely able to contain himself, causing Brittany to become agitated.

"You have to admit it was pretty clever." Alvin replied contently.

"Try childish." She corrected.

This made Alvin think twice about what he had just said, and realised that he may have upset her. He knew that Brittany didn't deserve to be the central figure of all his practical jokes, but he just couldn't resist.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" Simon asked, changing the subject to avoid any rifts forming between the two of them.

"Exercise, of course." Alvin replied.

"Why?" Theodore asked.

"To keep fit." Alvin answered.

"At this time in the morning?" Simon questioned, "This is to do with the competition, isn't it?"

"No, of course not." Alvin replied trying to cover up his intense rivalry with Ryan. "But now that you mention it, it wouldn't hurt to get in some extra preparation."

"You're paranoid about the dodge ball match, aren't you?" Simon asked.

"No, why would I be?" Alvin replied.

"I can tell this is about beating Ryan." Simon said, "And I'm not going to be a part of it."

He turned and walked back into the house, Jeanette followed him. Theodore and Eleanor remained outside for a few moments, before deciding to go inside to join Simon and Jeanette. The chance that they might have to do some exercise was enough to persuade them. That just left Brittany, she decided to stay outside and watch Alvin run about the garden. He was trying to improve his speed and agility, zigzagging as he ran. Alvin ran back past the backdoor and noticed that Brittany was still there.

"Oh, how come you're still here?" Alvin asked. "Aren't you going to join the others?"

"As much as it pains me, I decided to stay out here and keep you company." Brittany replied.

"Thanks Britt." Alvin said appreciatively.

"You know, I still haven't forgiven you about the blindfold thing." Brittany added.

"I know." Alvin replied as he jogged off around the garden again.

Brittany sat down, deciding to watch him and enjoy the fresh air.

The time flew by and before long Dave was calling them all for their lunch. The six of them rushed to the table, looking forward to seeing what Dave had cooked up for them. On arriving at the table they soon found out that he hadn't cooked up anything, he had prepared them yet another healthy meal; salad.

"Is this our lunch?" Alvin asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, it's healthy so dig in." Dave replied.

"We didn't eat this when we lived in the forest. Why would we eat it now?" Alvin complained.

"Because I'm here now." Dave answered, Alvin grumbled in reply.

"Don't you think this is a bit over the top?" Simon questioned.

"I'm only trying to help you get ready for the competition tomorrow." Dave reasoned.

"Well, we're happy to eat it if it's good for our health, right girls?" Brittany said.

"That's more like it," Dave said happily.

"Goody two shoes." Alvin said quietly.

Brittany heard his comment and stuck her nose up, not willing to sink to his level of bickering and knowing that she had annoyed him.

"Come on guys, if the Chipettes can eat it so can you." Dave encouraged.

"Thanks a lot." Alvin said to Brittany sarcastically. She grinned at him smugly, enjoying the fact that she had gotten one over on him.

"Okay, if you insist." Simon replied, giving into Dave's persuading.

"Trust me, it'll be worth it." Dave said.

"It better be." Alvin replied unhappily.

As soon as they had all finished eating the salad, they left the table and went off to relax and do their own things. Alvin returned to his training outside, Brittany followed him; wanting to keep him company. The others went to the living room to chill out.

Alvin began his training again; he was doing press ups and sit ups. Brittany was getting bored after watching him for a while, so she decided to have some fun.

"Those push ups look pretty easy." Brittany said as she walked over to him.

"They are." Alvin replied confidently.

"How about now?" Brittany asked as she sat on his back. He couldn't lift her up off the ground.

"Wow, how much do you weigh?" Alvin said.

"Not that much actually." Brittany replied feeling slightly offended. "You mustn't be as strong as you thought."

Alvin didn't take this very well, he was working on being stronger and Brittany was just showing up how weak he was.

"You're not helping." Alvin said. "Let me get on with my training."

"Okay, sorry." Brittany said sarcastically. "I was only trying to have a little fun."

"I need to concentrate." Alvin reasoned.

"I see, Simon's right, you are paranoid." Brittany answered back.

Alvin began ignoring her and focusing on doing his exercises correctly. This did not go down well with Brittany, she was the one trying to keep him company and this is how she is treated.

"Fine, I'll go." Brittany said, taking the hint that she was no longer wanted.

She left Alvin and returned to the living room to join the others. Leaving Alvin to complete his training in peace and on his own.

The five of them relaxed and watched television most of the afternoon. Simon decided to change to the local news channel as they were all getting bored of what they were watching. Their minds soon turned back to the competition when they when they saw it on the local news. The local news reader briefly covered the story, informing everyone of the up and coming competition.

"In other news, the chipmunks are once again making the local headlines but this time it's not for singing. The trio are taking part in a competition at their local school in order to raise much needed funds for the school's many facilities and programs. West Eastman High will be hosting the competition over the next couple of weeks, spectators are welcome and all proceeds will go to the school funding. The competition will commence tomorrow at 3:00pm with a dodge ball match between the chipmunks and a group of students from the school. Also competing in the tournament will be the chipettes, making up the six members required for each of the teams competing. There will be daily reports on the progress and results of this competition throughout the coming weeks, so keep watching for the latest updates on this story."

The reporter finished the part of the news about the competition and the channel went to a commercial break.

"What was that all about?" Brittany asked taken by surprise.

"I have no idea." Jeanette replied, as surprised as her sister.

"It's the first we've heard about it." Simon added calmly.

"Yeah, maybe Dave did it as part of the publicity." Theodore suggested.

"I don't think it was a good idea if he did." Brittany replied. "It's just adding extra pressure on us to perform."

"But it'll give you a taste of the publicity that you will have to cope with on the tour." Simon said.

"It'll only be the same as when we perform our songs." Eleanor added.

"And you'll get used to it in no time." Theodore encouraged, "We did, right Simon?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine, you aren't in the first round so you'll have time to adjust." Simon reassured.

"Dinner's almost ready guys." Dave shouted from the kitchen.

The five of them left the living room and sat down at the dining table to wait for dinner.

"Oh, I'll just go get Alvin." Brittany said remembering that he was still outside training.

"I wonder if Dave was responsible for the television coverage." Jeanette questioned.

Just at that moment Dave emerged from the kitchen with dinner and put the plates down on the table.

"Where are Alvin and Brittany?" He asked.

"Alvin is outside, Brittany went to get him." Eleanor replied.

"Okay, as long as they know dinner is ready." Dave said as he returned to the kitchen to get the rest of the dinner.

Alvin and Brittany arrived at the table just in time for Dave returning with their dinner. He placed the dinner down in front of them but did not get as bad a reaction as lunchtime. He had prepared pasta, yet another healthy option but a compromise between taste and healthiness.

"How do you like it?" Dave asked as he tucked into his dinner.

"It's okay, I guess." Brittany replied, not sounding too thrilled.

"At least it's better than lunch." Alvin added.

"Good. As long as you're eating it then I'm happy." Dave said.

They continued to eat their dinners until Simon decided to ask Dave about the news report that had been on television.

"Dave, we saw a news report about our competition, is it going to be on television?" Simon asked curiously.

"And did you arrange it?" Brittany added.

"Yes, and yes," Dave replied, "I was going to tell you all, but never got round to it."

"TV coverage?" Alvin questioned curiously.

"I organised to have the competition run as if it were professional; with press conferences and live coverage." Dave explained, "I would have asked you all first but the publicity was failing, so I had no choice."

"So we'll be on live television?" Alvin asked.

"Yes." Dave replied.

"Awesome." Alvin said.

"We perform live at concerts all the time, what difference does it make?" Simon commented to Alvin.

"None, but we'll be like professional sports stars. Doing press conferences, and interviews, it's gonna be great." Alvin explained excitedly.

"Well I'm glad Alvin's happy about it. How about the rest of you?" Dave asked.

"I guess we really don't have a choice." Brittany said.

"It'll be a new experience." Simon added.

"It'll be fun." Eleanor said.

"Great, I'm glad you're all on board, we need to stick together as a team through this competition." Dave replied. "And maybe we can mention our tour of England while we are at it."

Later that night, the chipmunks and chipettes were settling down in bed to go to sleep, making sure that they would be well rested for the first round of the competition. Alvin was thinking about his head to head with Ryan and was miles away in his thoughts. The others all had the competition on their minds and the coverage that it would be receiving.

"How many people do you think will be watching the dodge ball match?" Eleanor asked.

"I hope there won't be many." Jeanette commented.

"There will probably be quite a lot," Simon answered, "Considering how popular we are."

"It won't be that bad, guys." Brittany said. "It's just the camera crews that'll be there, not the audience."

"Brittany's right, there's no need to get worked up about it." Simon agreed.

"W-What about the press conferences?" Theodore asked nervously.

"Just act natural and be yourselves," Simon replied. "Alvin will take care of them. Right Alvin?"

Alvin was still deep in thought and did not hear Simon, he was contemplating how he would beat Ryan in the first round.

"Alvin?" Simon asked, waiting for a response. There was no reply.

"He must be asleep." Theodore said.

Brittany looked across to see if he was awake or not, as her bunk was on a par with his. Through the darkness she could just make out that he was awake. Brittany was about to tell the others that he was awake but thought better of it, she knew that he was thinking about the competition and didn't want to disturb him.

"Well, he has the right idea." Simon said, "We all better try and get some sleep."

"Goodnight Theodore," Eleanor said.

"Goodnight Eleanor," Theodore replied.

"Goodnight Simon," Jeanette said.

"Goodnight Jeanette," Simon replied.

"Goodnight Alvin," Brittany said not expecting a reply.

Hearing Brittany say his name, Alvin immediately snapped out of his trance and realised what she had just said.

"Goodnight Britt." He whispered before turning over and going to sleep.

Brittany smiled to herself, she knew that Alvin was stressed out by the competition and it was dominating his thoughts. But he still acknowledged her, even with all the confusion running through his mind. She knew he was under pressure, and she intends to be there for him every step of the way, no matter how tough.

The next morning, school as usual except they had the first round of the competition at 3pm. Not only is it hard enough for them to drag their selves out of bed on a Monday; they had the dodge ball match to look forward to as well.

Dave came into the bedroom to wake them all up and make sure that they got out of bed ready for school.

"Rise and shine." He said as he opened the curtains, revealing the dazzling sunlight of a warm summer's day.

"Morning already?" Brittany moaned.

"Yep. That means it's time to get up." Dave replied.

"Just five more minutes." Alvin said turning away from the sunlight.

"You have to get up, or you'll not be ready for the competition." Dave explained. "The quicker you get up, the quicker you'll wake up."

Simon, Theodore, Jeanette and Eleanor all made the effort to get out of bed and trailed across the room collecting their clothes.

"Come on you two, everyone else is up." Dave pressured.

"Fine, I'm up." Brittany said, leaving the comfort of her bed and slowly descending down the ladder of her bunk.

That just left Alvin, who clearly did not want to get up.

"Alvin." Dave warned.

"But I'm still tired." Alvin moaned.

"Don't make me come over there." Dave said as he stood in the doorway.

Alvin remembered what happened last time Dave said that, so he decided to get up and avoid any unnecessary accidents from occurring.

"Good, I'm going to make breakfast, so don't take too long getting dressed." Dave said as he left the room.

Alvin climbed down the ladders from his bunk bed and went off in pursuit of his clothes.

Jeanette and Eleanor returned to the room and put their pyjamas on their beds before heading to the kitchen for breakfast. Alvin slowly shuffled in the direction of the bathroom after picking up one of his hoodies. He passed Simon and Theodore in the doorway, they looked a whole lot more awake than he felt. Alvin arrived at the bathroom to find the door shut and that Brittany was in there. He sighed out loud; knowing that she would be in there for ages, and leaned against the wall to keep himself from falling over.

Time passed, and so did his brothers as they headed for the dining table and their breakfast. Finally, Brittany emerged from the bathroom, but Alvin didn't notice as he was so immersed in his thoughts about the afternoon's dodge ball match. Brittany stood and looked at him for a second or two, before waving a hand in front of his face to get his attention.

"Are you okay, Alvin?" Brittany asked, beginning to become concerned.

He has been acting strange lately and she had picked up on it.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired that's all." Alvin replied, stretching his arms and pretending to yawn.

He walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him, leaving Brittany to ponder to herself about Alvin's change in attitude.

At breakfast the chipmunks and chipettes were greeted by yet another healthy alternative to their regular breakfast. Dave had once again whipped up some bowls of oatmeal, this time he had had the initiative to add a pinch of cinnamon to make it easier for them to eat.

"Ready for today guys?" Dave asked.

"I hope so." Simon replied.

"Well, this breakfast should give you all the energy you need." Dave said.

"Thanks Dave," Theodore said appreciative of the effort he was putting in to help them prepare.

Dave smiled before returning to the kitchen to clean up. The six of them managed to eat their oatmeal and were ready for the competition ahead, physically and hopefully mentally. Once breakfast was over with, the six of them plus Dave made their way to school as usual.

Following the usual routine, they arrived at the lockers to collect their learning materials ready for class.

"I'll have to go and sort out the last minute preparations for the competition," Dave explained. "So I'll see you all at lunch, okay?"

"Okay." Eleanor replied.

Dave left and went to find Dr Rubin, leaving them to gather up their things from their lockers.

"We'll meet up at break, okay?" Simon said.

"Sure." Brittany replied.

Simon and Jeanette walked off to their first class, giving themselves enough time to be early.

"Got your stuff?" Eleanor asked Theodore.

"Yep." Theodore replied.

"Okay," Eleanor said. "We'll see you later Britt."

"Okay, bye guys." Brittany replied before turning to her locker.

She picked up her things and shut her locker, ready to head off to her first class of the day. But Alvin was still using his locker, slowly moving stuff around, not looking his usual self.

"Either you're trying to make us late for class or you have something on your mind." Brittany said as she observed his movements. "Which is it?"

Alvin shook his head and turned to look at Brittany, he hadn't heard a word she had just said. He still had the rivalry between him and Ryan spiralling around in his head, providing extra unwanted pressure.

"I'm fine." Alvin said noticing that Brittany was looking at him.

"I'm not convinced." She replied, "But if you don't hurry up we'll be late.

"Okay, sorry." Alvin replied sarcastically.

Brittany just tutted, rolling her eyes at Alvin's childish behaviour, before turning and heading off to class. Alvin grabbed what he needed from his locker before slamming it shut and racing off to catch up with Brittany.

For the six of them the classes they had seemed to last hours, with the burden of the competition looming over them they found it hard to concentrate. Even Simon and Jeanette were finding it hard to focus on the classes and not the competition. The six of them were all relieved when the bell rang at the end of class, they could escape the classrooms and relax.

Theodore and Eleanor left their classroom and headed for the lockers where they all usually meet up, but were interrupted by an unwanted intervention from Ryan and Xander. The two jocks stepped in front of them and made sure that they got their full attention.

"Ready for the competition?" Ryan asked teasingly.

"Ignore them." Eleanor said to Theodore, as they carried on walking past them.

"You're gonna make an easy target." Ryan continued.

"Look at the size of his butt, you can't miss it." Xander added.

Ryan gave Xander a high five, as the two chipmunks continued to walk away from them down the hall.

"Dead 'munks walkin'," Ryan yelled after them as he and Xander headed in the opposite direction.

Theodore and Eleanor arrived last at the lockers, with Theodore looking understandably upset from the experience.

"Are you okay Theo?" Simon asked, being the first to notice that something was wrong.

Theodore nodded, not saying a word, just trying desperately to bottle up his emotions inside.

"We had a run in with Ryan." Eleanor explained.

Upon hearing Ryan's name mentioned in the conversation Alvin's ears pricked up.

"Did he hurt you?" Alvin asked.

"No, it was just an exchange of words." Eleanor replied.

"It's still out of line; just before the competition." Simon said.

"They're not playing fair." Jeanette agreed.

"Hey, these _are_ the jocks we're talking about; of course they won't play fair." Brittany said, "We just have to ride it out."

"If Ryan does it again then he'll have to answer to me." Alvin said bravely, smiling at Theodore in an attempt to make him feel better.

He managed a smile, but still felt hurt and upset deep down inside. Eleanor put an arm on his shoulders to comfort him, making him feel safer and more secure.

"We all just need to stick together and it'll be fine." Eleanor reassured.

"We can tell Dave what happened at lunchtime." Jeanette added.

"Speaking of time, it's almost time for class." Simon reminded.

"Okay, we'll all meet up at lunch, guys." Alvin said.

The six of them split up and left the lockers to go to their next classes. Simon and Jeanette went in the opposite direction to the others and were soon faced with the task of walking past the jocks. They were leaning against some lockers and soon noticed the two chipmunks passing by. Ryan casually pretended to drop a book, narrowly missing the two of them. The book landed only centimetres away from them, causing them to step back.

"Oh, did I nearly hurt you?" Ryan said with a smirk on his face.

"Leave us alone." Simon replied.

"But it's so much fun." Ryan answered back.

"Save it for the competition." Simon said as he and Jeanette walked away.

"Oh yeah, that's right, I'll have an easy way of injuring you without breaking any rules." Ryan said, reminding the two of them of the potential pain he can cause.

"Sounds like fun." Xander added.

Simon and Jeanette continued to their next class, pretending that they hadn't heard them.

At lunchtime, the chipmunks and chipettes sat down at a table and had lunch together; they were joined by Dave shortly after starting lunch. This gave them a prime opportunity to tell him about the jocks' intimidating tactics.

"Hi guys." Dave said as he sat down at their table. "Are you all feeling okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Alvin replied.

"We're fine." Simon added.

Theodore nodded in agreement before continuing with his lunch. The three chipettes looked at each other, puzzled as to why the boys didn't mention the jocks' bullying. Brittany noticed that the three of them were keeping their heads down, and she realised that they did not want to go complaining to Dave. Then she put two and two together; remembering that the jocks kept referring to Dave as their 'bodyguard'. So they wouldn't want to tell Dave because the jocks would just bully and intimidate them all the more.

"Actually, we're not okay." Brittany said. "The jocks have been intimidating us."

Her confession of the bullying was met by glares from Alvin and Simon, who knew that Dave would try and get involved.

"Is that right?" Dave questioned.

Jeanette and Eleanor looked at each other and then nodded to Dave.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Dave asked.

"We didn't want you getting involved and being our bodyguard." Alvin replied.

"I think what Alvin means is that it's a pride thing, we need to stand up for ourselves." Simon added.

"You could have at least told me." Dave insisted.

"We all need to work together." Eleanor agreed.

"A problem shared is a problem solved." Jeanette added.

"Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to be bullied by those guys," Alvin said.

"No, but I'm sure we can lend a hand." Brittany replied supportively.

"Brittany's right," Dave agreed, "I'm sure we can all help you, but I can't help until I know you need it."

"You're right, we need to tell you if anything is wrong, but please don't get involved in this, we can handle it ourselves." Simon said.

"Okay, I'll keep my distance," Dave agreed, "Anyway, are you all ready for the competition?"

"As ready as we'll ever be." Simon replied.

"We'll be fine," Alvin replied, displaying an air of confidence.

"Good. Remember, there will be media coverage of the competition." Dave reminded as he got up and left the table.

"We know." Alvin replied sounding annoyed.

They all knew about the coverage there was going to be on the competition, but didn't know about the scale of it.

Later that day, as the bell rang signalling the end of another school day, the chipmunks and chipettes met up at their lockers to regroup ready for the task ahead. They made their way to the gymnasium after retrieving all their sportswear from their lockers. Nerves were beginning to creep in; even though they have performed loads of concerts in front of thousands of people. The fact that it was a local event and that they were competing for pride, added extra pressure to the situation.

The six of them arrived at the gymnasium, meeting Dave at the doors.

"Ready guys?" Dave asked.

"Let's do this." Alvin said, all fired up.

Dave opened the doors to the gymnasium to reveal the true scale of the competition. There was a court, lined with stands full of spectators and surrounded with filming equipment. The court must have been surrounded by at least ten different cameras, covering all angles and movements of the action. There were also lots of film crews around, ready to capture all of the footage of the competition as they could.

The scale of the competition was a step up from what the six chipmunks were expecting, set out fully professional and looking very serious. All this was just another uninvited source of pressure to be piled onto the shoulders of the chipmunks. They all stood in awe of the arena that they would be playing in, and knew that it was no longer a simple grudge match. It had become much, much more.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, Please review :)**


	19. Let the Games Begin

**The dodge ball round is finally going to begin, will the chipmunks rise to the challenge or will the jocks take an expected win?**

* * *

Visions of the Super bowl were cycling through Alvin's mind, caught up in the moment, being part of a televised sporting event. He had always dreamed of it, even though it was only a simple dodge ball match it felt like more to him. He was feeling the pressure and hoping to thrive on it. Simon and Theodore were taken aback at first, but soon adjusted to their surroundings. It wasn't as if they hadn't performed in front of this many people before, they had the experience and just needed to focus on the task at hand.

"Don't worry Theo; it's just like performing at a concert." Simon reassured, "Our fans will be there to cheer us on."

"You're right." Theodore said happily looking at the crowd and noticing the support that they had.

Dave led the six of them into the gymnasium, Alvin waving to the crowd; milking the occasion for all it's worth. The Chipettes, on the other hand, were not as forward as Alvin and definitely not as confident. They had performed in front of audiences before and were accustomed to the attention, but the pressure of every single movement they make being filmed for live television just made their nerves tingle. It was a new experience to be on live television watched by the masses, and a nerve racking one at that. The Chipmunks stood on the edge of the court taking in their surroundings ready for the match. Whilst the Chipettes quietly followed Dave, not sure what to do and certainly not wanting to put a foot wrong on live television. They went and sat with Dave on the team bench in preparation for the start of the match, cameras already being directed at them.

Alvin continued to collect his applause from the crowd until all the focus turned from him to the entrance of the gymnasium. The jocks had arrived and were immediately greeted with an air of hostility from the crowd. Ryan was at the front of the team, leading them into the gymnasium with a confident swagger. Three members of the jocks' team headed for the team bench as Dave and the Chipettes had already done. Leaving Ryan, Xander and another player named Louis, to make their way over to the court. The cameras were fixated on them as they strode up to the chipmunks.

"Ready for payback." Ryan said.

"In your dreams." Alvin answered back.

"We'll see." Ryan replied.

By now, camera crews were surrounding the scene in an attempt to pick up the confrontation with their microphones. The jocks were already making a scene and were trying to look as tough as possible in front of the cameras. Ryan led the other two away from the chipmunks and towards the dressing rooms.

"Don't worry guys, just stick to the plan and we'll do fine," Alvin said, "I'll take care of Ryan."

"I sure hope so." Simon replied

"Should we go and get changed now?" Theodore asked.

"Yeah, good idea." Alvin replied.

The three of them exited into their designated changing room to prepare for the match. With nothing to film, the camera crews went over to the team benches to interview the personnel involved in the competition.

As expected the main focus was around the chipmunk team bench; cameras and microphones being aimed in their direction. The chipettes were a little daunted by all the attention, but luckily Dave was there to take all the questions.

"How are you feeling ahead of today's match?" An interviewer asked as he held a microphone in the chipettes' direction.

"We're all very excited but at the same time nervous." Dave answered, taking the attention away from the chipettes.

"A familiar face, Dave Seville the chipmunks' manager is here on the team bench," the interviewer introduced, "And most likely you are the manager of the chipmunk team for the competition?"

"That's right; I'm here for the morale support more than anything. Alvin is the captain, so he's going to be organising the team." Dave explained.

"Great, so what do you expect to happen in this match?" The interviewer asked.

"Well, we have a disadvantage in terms of size, but have a big advantage of experience. Having performed in front of crowds before, we may have an advantage from the supporters." Dave analysed.

"Okay, that's all the time we have. Thanks for your time and good luck." The interviewer said before moving away from them and focusing on the jocks; who had just emerged from their changing room.

Ryan led the jocks across the gymnasium to the centre of the dodge ball court; not appearing phased by the media attention at all. They huddled up to discuss their plan of attack, prompting the camera crews to close in on them. But before they could, the chipmunks emerged from their changing room wearing their personalised sportswear. They were met by applause from the audience as they made their way towards the court. The jocks heard the change in atmosphere from the spectators and knew the chipmunks had finally arrived. They turned to face the chipmunks as they walked onto the court; camera crews backing off in anticipation of a confrontation.

"Don't be intimidated, they're just posers." Alvin encouraged.

"It doesn't mean they won't hurt us." Simon said.

"They can't hit us if they can't catch us." Alvin replied. "Just keep on your toes."

"I'll try." Theodore answered nervously.

"Keep calm and we'll be fine." Simon reassured Theodore, in an attempt to stop him being so scared.

The two teams stepped up to the centre of the court, facing each other, the jocks towering over the chipmunks. The cameras captured both teams in shot; highlighting the literal 'David versus goliath' situation. From the audiences view, the chipmunks looked like the true underdogs of the competition.

"It's time for the pain to begin." Ryan said as he looked down on the three chipmunks. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."

"We're not going to be pushovers." Alvin warned.

"No, of course you're not," Ryan replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, 'cause we're not going to be pushing." Xander added.

Dr Rubin stepped in to stop the exchange of words and to get the competition underway.

"Welcome, everyone, to the first round of the competition between the chipmunks and the students from here at West Eastman High School. Without further ado, let the first round begin." Dr Rubin introduced.

A referee passed Dr Rubin; as she left the court, and stood on the edge of the court, he was wearing a black and white striped shirt and had a whistle around his neck.

"Okay, the rules are simple, if you are hit by a ball you are out, if you catch a ball the person who threw it is out. The format will be best of three rounds, with a short interval between each round. No one is permitted to cross the centre line; so stay on your own side of the court." The referee explained.

"Let the best _man_ win." Ryan said as he and the two jocks made their way onto their own side of the court.

The chipmunks also made their way to their side of the court and waited for further instructions from the referee.

"All players must start from the back of the court," The referee explained.

The jocks and the chipmunks all moved to the back of their sides of the court and readied themselves. The audience were deathly quiet in anticipation of the start of the match. The cameras were ready and covering every square inch of the court; providing the footage for the television audience.

Four balls were placed in the centre of the court and the referee positioned himself, ready to start the first match.

"Ready?" The referee asked.

"Ready." Ryan replied confidently.

"Ready." Alvin replied with determination in his voice.

The referee put his whistle to his lips and waited, building up extra suspense, before blowing it signalling the start of the match.

Alvin and Ryan immediately ran to the centre of the court in the first test of who was better than whom. Alvin grabbed two of the balls throwing them back to Simon and Theodore. While Ryan grabbed the other two balls and tossed them back to Xander and Louis. Alvin and Ryan both darted back to the back of the court in preparation of the throwing.

Ryan immediately grabbed one of the balls from Xander and aimed it at Alvin. While Alvin took a ball from Simon and aimed at Ryan. They both threw the balls at one another at the same time. It was clear for all to see, Alvin and Ryan were more focused on taking each other out than aiming for anyone else. Their rivalry already taking centre stage in the competition.

Both shots missed as the two of them dived and dodged out of the way of each other's shots. The ball Alvin threw took an unlucky bounce, landing next to Xander and providing the jocks with a quick counter attack. Before Simon had time to retrieve the ball that Ryan had thrown, he was under fire from the jocks. Xander and Louis both threw the balls in quick succession, making it extremely difficult for Simon to evade.

Simon anticipated the first ball and ducked under it, but didn't have quick enough reflexes to avoid the second. The dodge ball struck him in the face, knocking his glasses off and causing him to summersault backwards to the edge of the court.

The spectators almost felt the impact themselves, all reacting to the hit with a concerning verbal groan. Luckily the hit was a glancing blow and wasn't as devastating as it could have been. Nevertheless it was enough to take Simon off his feet and send him tumbling through the air; and out of the first round.

"You're out!" The referee yelled as play continued.

"Simon!" Jeanette shouted, really concerned for his wellbeing.

Theodore looked across to see if Simon was okay, narrowly avoiding a dodge ball from the aftermath of the jocks' devastating attack.

"Simon?" Theodore said, trying to check up on him.

Luckily, Theodore still had his dodge ball from the start of the match and was using it for cover. Meanwhile, Ryan had obtained the dodge ball that had hit Simon, because it had rolled over onto his side of the court. Alvin dashed to the back of the court, desperately hoping that Ryan wouldn't hit him while he was out of cover.

"Throw it Theodore!" Alvin yelled as he dived to safety behind a dodge ball.

Theodore, seeing his brothers in trouble, put all his emotion into his throw and produced a dynamite shot. The ball hurtled across the court and hit Louis in the midriff, causing him to keel over and stumble backwards to the ground.

"You're out!" The referee yelled as Louis dragged himself out of the line of fire.

"Nice shot Theo," Alvin complemented, as he grabbed another ball and rolled one over to his brother.

Alvin threw the dodge ball at Ryan as hard as he could. Ryan was expecting this and easily dodged it, providing Xander with a dodge ball enabling him to attack.

Ryan saw his chance and took it with clinical accuracy; Theodore was waiting to receive his dodge ball and was not paying attention. He was hit clean by Ryan's throw and he was launched off the court, sliding to the back of the gymnasium.

"Sweet," Ryan said, admiring his work.

"You're out!" The referee shouted.

"Theo." Eleanor said, unable to contain her concern.

She jumped up off the team bench and ran around the side of the court to Theodore. He looked shaken up and disorientated, resulting from the heavy contact sustained from Ryan's powerful throw.

The crowd didn't like the vicious nature of Ryan's throw and were displaying their disapproval verbally. The booing and heckling didn't put Ryan off; he was focused on taking Alvin down and didn't take his eyes off him.

Alvin could tell that the crowd and Theodore's condition were a distraction, and saw them as a window of opportunity. He launched his dodge ball low and fast, where Xander could not block it. Xander attempted to dodge it but was hit on the leg, the blow causing him to lose his balance and fall flat on his face.

"You're out!" The referee called.

The crowd began cheering again at the prospect of the Chipmunks' team making a comeback. But Ryan knew that he held all the cards and all of the four dodge balls on the court.

"That was a big mistake." Ryan said, a big grin spreading across his face.

Ryan picked up two of the dodge balls and launched them in quick succession. Alvin didn't have time to dodge them; the throw was too fast. The first ball hit Alvin but he managed to shrug off the glancing blow. The second shot was not so kind; knocking him to the ground and banging his head on the floor in the process.

"You're out," The referee said, before he blew his whistle. "Round one goes to the boys."

"That felt good." Ryan said as he walked off the court and towards the team bench to meet up with his team.

"Five minute interval." The referee declared.

This gave the chipmunk team time to regroup and recover. Eleanor had already gotten Theodore to his feet and had walked him over to the team bench. Whilst Jeanette had helpfully retrieved Simon's glasses and helped him up off the floor. Brittany walked over to Alvin to check if he was okay; he had gotten up slowly and didn't look as energetic as he had been earlier.

"Are you okay Alvin?" Brittany asked sounding slightly concerned.

Alvin shook his head violently before turning to Brittany.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, "Just a little dizzy."

Alvin began to walk towards the team bench but was swaying from side to side having problems keeping his balance. Brittany put an arm over his shoulders to steady him as he walked. Alvin shrugged the arm off and continued his attempt to walk to the team bench in a straight line.

"I'm fine." Alvin reiterated.

"Okay, I just wanted to help." Brittany replied feeling slightly upset by Alvin's decline of her assistance.

Alvin made it back to the team bench, as did Simon and Theodore, and sat down next to Dave. The chipettes sat on the other side of Dave; waiting for any instructions they might be given. Dave was already busy at work getting out lots of things from a small case he had.

"Jeanette, can you go and run this under a cold tap?" Dave asked handing her a small cloth.

"Okay." Jeanette replied.

"Eleanor, can you go with Jeanette and get some cold water?" Dave asked passing her a small beaker.

"Okay." Eleanor replied happily.

Dave began rummaging through his case again and pulled out a small metal container. He opened it and took a small piece of smelling salt out.

"Is there anything I can do?" Brittany asked trying to be helpful.

"Hmm, you could handle the media." Dave suggested. "If you think you're up to it."

"Okay, I'll give it a shot." Brittany answered, a little uneasy about the responsibility of representing the team on television.

Before Brittany had time to think, the team bench was approached by camera crews and interviewers. Seeing that Brittany was the only member of the team who was available, she was soon faced with being interviewed and answering questions.

"How do you think the first round went?" A female interviewer asked.

"Well, it could have gone better." Brittany answered, trying not to say anything that would upset the others.

"Do you think that your team will win the next round?" The interviewer asked.

"Umm...I hope so." Brittany replied.

"You don't sound too confident, is there anyone in your team that you feel is underperforming?" The interviewer continued to ask.

Brittany didn't reply; she knew that if she named anyone then she would cause the whole team to start fighting amongst each other.

Jeanette and Eleanor returned from the changing room with the water and wet cloth.

"Jeanette, put that cloth on Simon's head, it'll reduce any swelling." Dave explained. "Eleanor, give Theodore that water to drink, it'll freshen him up a little."

The two chipettes did what Dave had asked and left the chipmunks to tend to their own injuries, to await further instructions from Dave.

"Anything else we can do?" Jeanette asked trying to be helpful.

"Brittany looks like she's struggling with the media; can you give her a hand?" Dave asked.

"We can try." Eleanor replied.

Dave continued to refresh Alvin and tend to Simon and Theodore, whilst Jeanette and Eleanor went over to the media crowd to assist Brittany. Just as the two of them joined Brittany, who was still in silence, a male interviewer from a sports channel barged his way to the front of the media gathering.

"Good afternoon Chipettes, I'm from a local sports network. I would like to interview you about the match so far. Is that okay?" The man asked.

"Sure." Eleanor replied politely.

"Okay. The first match was pretty close, so how do you see the second one going?" He asked.

"We can win," Brittany answered in a display of false confidence. "Alvin will lead us to victory."

"That may be questionable; Alvin's performance was poor in the first game only achieving a 33 percent hit rate." The interviewer explained.

"He'll up his game, he's just warming up." Brittany protected.

"I certainly hope so. Speaking of improving performances, Simon didn't have the best of times in the first round. He was the first one to be knocked out and didn't really make an impact on the game..." The man began analysing.

Jeanette was becoming annoyed with the interviewer, because of his poor view of Simon's first round performance, and interrupted him.

"He didn't have time to make an impact, and I'm sure that if he's given the chance he'll make it count." Jeanette answered firmly, which was completely out of character for her.

Brittany and Eleanor looked across at her sister in astonishment; they didn't expect her to answer many questions and certainly didn't expect her to take point in the interview. The interviewer was also speechless for a moment, as he tried to come up with a rebuttal.

Finally, after the collective pause, the man interviewing the chipettes decided to move on for his own good; fearing any further answers from Jeanette.

"On the other hand, Theodore performed quite well. He got a 100 percent hit rate, taking put Louis in the process. The only flaw to his performance was his inability to dodge." The man summarised.

"Well, he doesn't need to dodge." Eleanor replied.

"Dodging is the name of the game." The interviewer answered back.

"But it's not part of our tactics." Brittany objected, backing up Eleanor.

"It sounds like the team has some tactics for the next round. Do you have any specific targets or strategies for the second match?" He asked.

"They're confidential." Brittany replied.

"Okay, no clues to what is going to happen in the next round. And with that the second round is about to get started. Thanks for the interview and enjoy the rest of the match." The interviewer said.

"Our pleasure." Eleanor replied politely.

The interviewer left the team bench, as did all the other interviewers and camera crews, and the chipettes collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

Dave had finished patching the chipmunks up and they were ready to get back on court for the second round. The three of them looked a lot better than they had done at the beginning of the interval, and were back on their feet.

The referee sounded his whistle and signalled the end of the five minute interval. The chipmunks and jocks made their ways back on court and prepared for the next match.

"Phew, I'm glad that's over," Brittany said.

"I thought it would never end." Eleanor added.

"Yeah," Jeanette agreed.

"You were great, Jen." Brittany praised.

"Yeah, you sure taught him a lesson," Eleanor agreed.

"We're a team; we need to stick up for each other." Jeanette replied modestly.

"So girls," Dave said leaning across to them. "How did it go?"

"It went fine." Brittany replied.

"It was kind of fun," Eleanor added.

"It sounds like you've figured out how to handle the media. You didn't get pressured into saying anything you'll regret did you?" Dave said.

"No." Brittany answered. "We played it cool."

"And Jeanette stood up to the interviewer when he was being mean about Simon." Eleanor added, feeling proud of her sister.

Jeanette blushed; she didn't really see herself as an outgoing person, and the attention and praise she received were an unexpected bonus for her efforts.

"We'll be able to see it later tonight on television." Dave said.

"What?" Eleanor asked.

"It'll be on the news channels for days as part of the coverage." Dave explained.

"Days?" Jeanette questioned.

"Anyway, I'm sure the main focus will be the post match press conference, so don't worry about it." Dave reassured.

"I hope so." Brittany said, realising how poorly she had handled her individual questions at the start of the interview.

"The second round is about to start." Dave pointed out.

"I hope they'll be alright." Eleanor said.

"We've patched them up as best we could; it's up to them now." Dave replied.

The chipmunks lined up at the back of their own side of the court, as did the jocks, in preparation of the start.

"Same plan as last time guys," Alvin said.

"As long as you don't start going after Ryan again." Simon suggested.

"I didn't see you doing anything." Alvin replied defensively.

"Because you took the ball and left me in the open like a sitting duck." Simon answered back.

"Guys, we need to work as a team, remember." Theodore interrupted.

"Theo's right, if we stick together we'll have a better chance." Simon agreed.

"Ready?" The referee shouted.

"Ready." Alvin replied.

"Ready." Ryan replied, his eyes already fixed on Alvin.

The referee put his whistle to his lips and once again waited a few seconds to build the suspense before blowing it to start the second round.

As in the first round, Alvin and Ryan dashed to the centre of the court and acquired two balls each; throwing them back to their team members.

Xander made the first move aiming at an unprotected Alvin and missing by a whisker as he retreated to safety. The dodge ball ricocheted to the corner of the court near the back wall; a fair distance from where Alvin was. Simon chucked his dodge ball to Alvin so that he could go and retrieve the loose dodge ball whilst Alvin gave him cover.

Louis saw this obvious attempt at protection and aimed for Simon as he scurried across the court. The ball shot directly in front of Simon, crossing his path only inches ahead. It was a near miss and prompted Theodore to retaliate with a hard throw back at Louis. Alvin too retaliated with a low hard throw, directed at Ryan as the vast majority of his shots had been.

Louis leaned to one side letting Theodore's powerful throw shoot past his shoulder in a skilfully calculated dodge. Ryan dodged Alvin's throw as well, using an acrobatic jump to let the ball shoot through his legs, nutmegging him and missing its target harmlessly.

The jocks then moved to retrieve the dodged balls, as did the chipmunks. Simon rolled both balls forward up the court into a more accessible area. Whilst the jocks picked up the loose balls and prepared to throw.

Simon dashed in Theodore's direction, leaving Alvin to deal with the dodge balls. Seeing that two of the chipmunks were near each other, Xander targeted Theodore in the hope of hitting two 'munks with one ball. Simon jumped behind Theodore just as the ball was going to hit him, using him as a shield. The ball came with some force, making the impact quite hard.

The spectators' reactions were of surprise and astonishment as the ball was stopped after moving a couple of feet. Theodore had blocked and held onto the ball, Simon stopping him from falling over; acting as a support. The referee had to look twice before realising that the ball had actually been caught.

"You're out!" The referee shouted, signalling for Xander to leave the court.

Alvin followed up with a quick counter attack in an attempt to catch Ryan off guard. The shot was waist height, and only an instinctive dodge from Ryan prevented a potentially painful impact. Ryan immediately dashed to retrieve the thrown ball, as Alvin was without a ball and therefore vulnerable. Alvin realised this and dashed to the back of the court to retrieve the loose dodge ball.

The race between Ryan and Alvin to get to a dodge ball ended with Ryan acquiring and throwing a ball before Alvin had gotten there. Seeing the dodge ball heading in his direction with speed, Alvin dived behind the spare dodge ball and used it for protection. Ryan's dodge ball ricocheted off the other and both balls bounced away from Alvin, leaving him unprotected once again.

Theodore, with Simon still stood behind him, moved the dodge ball he had blocked to one side and was immediately hit by a precise and calculated throw from Louis. He had anticipated Theodore moving the dodge ball, and thrown a deadly accurate shot, hitting Theodore in the face and knocking both him and Simon over.

"You're out!" The referee called as Theodore struggled to get to his feet.

Alvin, seeing Ryan and Louis had no balls on their side of the court, saw his chance to shine. He could finally get one over on Ryan, with three dodge balls at his disposal. Taking aim, he grabbed a dodge ball and hurled it at Ryan. Once again he managed to dodge it, but this time Alvin had thought ahead and launched a second ball in quick succession. Ryan only just dodged the second shot using his quick reactions, and was off balance. He was then caught off guard by a third dodge ball hitting his leg, completely knocking him off balance and causing him to hit the deck.

This came as a surprise to everyone on the team benches, and especially Alvin; who still had the third ball within his grasp. He looked across at his brother in dismay, astonished at how he had just managed to take Ryan down. Simon had taken just a single shot at Ryan and succeeded at the first attempt.

"You're out!" The referee called.

Ryan thumped the ground with his fist out of frustration, as he got to his feet he gave Simon an evil glare. This would be enough to affect anyone's game, and Simon was no exception. No sooner had this series of distracting events taken place; Louis had taken him out cleanly; sending Simon rolling along the ground to the back of the court.

"You're out!" The referee called again, as Simon was the second player out in quick succession.

Simon crawled out of play at the back of the court to join Theodore, who had stumbled out earlier. The two of them sat and watched as the first round of the competition rested entirely on Alvin's shoulders. A win for the jocks give them the dodge ball stage, but Alvin could win the round and take it to a tie breaking third round.

The first move in the one-on-one situation was made by Louis. He threw one of the two dodge balls he had available and lined up the second. Alvin saw his moment to take all the glory and prove his awesomeness; finally gaining the self belief he had been lacking. He used one of the dodge balls, which were next to him, as a platform to launch an acrobatic dodge. Alvin leapt up onto the ball and sprung up and over the incoming dodge ball, hurdling it cleanly and showing off some of his skill while he was at it.

Alvin landed cleanly and immediately had to dodge the second dodge ball. The whole moment seemed to be in slow motion to Alvin; but it was over in a flash. He barrel-rolled to his left, narrowly avoiding the throw before launching his own attack using a conveniently placed dodge ball. The whole dodge and counter attack was done in such a high tempo, that Louis was caught off guard and left with little time to react.

In what Alvin would have described as a fluke, Louis managed to block and catch the ball. Managing to pull off a spectacular reflex move and win the game for the jocks.

"You're out." The referee called. "And that's the game, round 2 and the match goes to the boys."

The next few moments seemed to last forever as Alvin realised what had happened, and all the feelings sunk in. He fell to the floor and lay on his back staring at the ceiling. He had just cost them the match, and felt that he had just thrown it away cheaply; allowing Louis to catch his last throw.

The jocks were all celebrating their victory, surrounded by the media circus; leaving the chipmunk team to lick their wounds in peace. The chipettes left the team bench as soon as the match had ended and made their way over to the court to check how the chipmunks were feeling.

Simon and Theodore were sat together near the edge of the court, as Jeanette and Eleanor walked over to them.

"Are you two okay?" Jeanette asked.

"We'll live." Simon replied.

"You did great out there." Eleanor praised.

"Really?" Theodore asked.

"Sure" Eleanor replied

"It didn't feel like we played that well," Simon said rubbing his head.

"We'll let the statistics decide." Jeanette said as she helped Simon to his feet.

"Besides, we're still proud of how you played." Eleanor said, helping Theodore up.

"Thanks." Theodore said appreciatively.

"Yeah, you've been really supportive." Simon agreed.

"We try." Eleanor answered modestly.

Meanwhile, Brittany approached Alvin; who was still lying on his back, devastated at losing the match in such a humiliating fashion.

"Alvin?" Brittany asked.

She got no response; Alvin was overrun with emotions and was just staring at the ceiling, taking in what had just happened. He wished that the ground would just open up and swallow him, as he realised that the match had been on live television and he had cost the team the round.

"Are you okay?" Brittany asked, concerned that he was not answering.

Alvin did not reply, he was spaced out deep in thought about all the things that he could have and should have done in the match.

Brittany leaned over him and caught his attention, snapping him out of his trance-like state. He stared up at her despondently, not knowing what to say. Brittany saw his facial expression and body posture, and knew that he was disappointed at losing. She offered him a hand to help him get up; wanting to aid him as much as possible. Alvin was so caught up in his emotions that he hadn't realised how drained he was, struggling to get his feet with help from Brittany.

"Good effort." Brittany praised, "You did well."

Alvin looked across at her as the two of them began to walk over to their team bench together. He knew that Brittany was just trying to cheer him up, simply by the fact that in his own opinion he didn't play well at all. Alvin returned a smile to acknowledge the kind gesture.

The six of them all got to the team bench and joined Dave; who was waiting to see how they were feeling.

"How are you feeling guys?" Dave asked.

"Tired." Simon said.

"Yeah." Theodore agreed.

"Are any of you hurt?" Dave asked.

"We're fine," Simon answered.

"It wasn't too painful out there." Theodore added.

"Well, as long as you're okay." Dave replied, he looked across at Alvin curiously wondering why he wasn't saying anything.

"You all did well out there, I'm proud of the determination and effort you showed." Dave praised.

"Thanks Dave." Theodore replied happily.

"We gave it our all." Simon added.

"That's all you could do." Jeanette agreed.

Dave looked over to the media circus that was crowding the corner of the gymnasium and spotted Dr Rubin. She signalled for them to go over to the corner; where the post match press-conference was due to take place.

"Okay guys, you have to do the post match interviews, just relax and answer the questions as best you can." Dave said.

"We'll try our best." Simon replied.

Alvin continued to keep quiet, already catching the others' attention with his surprisingly subdued mood.

They all made their way over to the corner and mat up with Dr Rubin. She directed Alvin, Simon and Theodore to their places on the panel; joining the jocks who were sat to the left of them. The three of them took their places and the interview began. There were several rows of photographers, journalists and interviewers sat directly in front of them on chairs; waiting for the opportunity to ask a question.

"Okay, the post match press conference can start." Dr Rubin announced, "Please try to ask your questions in turn."

"My question is for the chipmunk team." An interviewer said standing up. "Do you feel that you could have put up more of a fight in the match?"

Simon and Theodore both looked at Alvin, waiting for him to take control and answer the question. Instead, Alvin looked less confident than usual and looked across at his brothers. Simon urged him to answer, before the three of them turned to face the media.

"Yeah, we could because we lost." Alvin replied bluntly.

"Do you think the tactics you chose for the match were the correct ones?" The interviewer asked.

Alvin shrugged despondently, not looking at all bothered with the whole press conference thing. He was so hyped about it before the competition but now wasn't even remotely interested. Simon had noticed Alvin's behaviour and knew that he would have to step in and answer the questions instead.

"I think our tactics were right, but the way we applied them wasn't." Simon explained.

The interviewer asking the questions sat down, allowing another to stand up and ask their questions.

"My questions are for the boys," The female reporter said, "What was the key to your victory?"

"Easy, we were playing chipmunks, it wasn't a challenge." Ryan replied arrogantly.

"You recorded a comfortable 2-0 win; who do you feel was the best player on your team?" The reporter continued.

"That's a tough one; we were all pretty good out there. But if I have to choose someone, then it would probably be me." Ryan answered.

That concluded the female reporter's questions and allowed a man to take to his feet and ask some more questions. He looked like a television presenter because of his outfit; wearing a suit and tie, smart shoes and looking well groomed.

"Chipmunks, what went wrong out there?" The man asked.

"Well, we didn't really play to our full potential." Simon replied. "I guess we were too slow out of the traps."

"Given that your poor performance as a whole lead to a 2-0 loss, do you believe that there was a weak link in your team?" The presenter asked, really trying to probe the team into revealing any blame they had for one another.

Simon wasn't stupid, he knew what the presenter was trying to do, and he wasn't going to be fooled by his pressuring tactics. He answered the question to the best of his ability; attempting to avoid singling anyone out to prevent the possibility of a rift developing in the team.

"Given that the team lost 2-0, I think that the whole team would be the weak link." Simon said, dodging around the issue.

"Given that each individual on your team has their own strengths and weaknesses, someone must have played worse than another on your team. Who do you think performed the worst on the team?" The presenter asked, pressing for an answer to his original question.

"I don't want to single anyone out." Simon stated.

He didn't want to be forced into choosing a member of the team to take all the blame for the loss. The presenter remained stood up, waiting for his question to be answered. Simon sat in silence, sticking to his guns and not changing his mind on the matter. The situation was looking like a stalemate and was going nowhere, so Dr Rubin stepped in to move the press conference along. But she was stopped at the last second by Alvin, answering the presenter's question after some time for thought.

"There was a weak link out there today." Alvin said.

"Alvin!" Simon whispered under his breath, in an attempt to stop him. "Don't!"

Alvin looked across at Simon for brief moment; seeing the look of desperation on his face before turning to look at Theodore. He had his head down, almost certain that he would have performed the worst of the three of them; consigning himself to the position of weak link. Alvin looked across at Simon again, now seeing that his brother was giving him a concerning look, not wanting him to name drop. After this brief pause Alvin decided to proceed and answer the question.

The whole gathering of media personnel were now waiting with bated breath in anticipation of the answer. Even the jocks were looking across at Alvin, wondering what he was going to say and who he was going to blame. The room was silent, you could have heard a pin drop, and all eyes fixed on Alvin.

"The weak link...was me." Alvin confessed.

The whole room was silent; no one expected the answer to be himself. A stunned look was visible on most if not all of the faces of the media personnel present. Not to mention the television audiences watching from the comfort of their own homes. Simon and Theodore stared at Alvin in disbelief as he continued to answer the question.

"I had countless attempts and rarely hit anyone; I was wasteful with possession and ruined my team's chances." Alvin explained, "So I was the weak link."

There was a continued silence from everyone present at the press conference, until a slightly emotional Dr Rubin intervened.

"That's all for the press conference, the next one will be the day before event 2; chess." Dr Rubin explained. "The pre-match press conference will take place on Wednesday at 3:00pm at this location. Thank you for attending and I look forward to seeing you all at the next event."

The gymnasium slowly emptied, with the media circus moving along. The chipmunk team remained behind to consolidate on their loss and to take in what had just conspired.

Alvin was feeling so disappointed with himself and felt responsible for the team losing to the jocks without winning a single round. In his opinion he deserved to take the blame, and provoked the self-infliction of criticism as punishment for his own failure.

Simon and Theodore were still lost for words; they didn't expect Alvin to take the blame and they certainly didn't think that it was fair on him so have done so. They were supposed to work as a team and Alvin had singled himself out.

Dave and the chipettes were still sat to the side of the press conference area, unsure of what to do. They had just witnessed Alvin confess to the public and the media that he had been a weak link, which didn't seem right to them.

With the next event only three days away, the team will need to put this ordeal behind them to focus on the future. But this will be difficult given the series of events that have just unravelled; 1-0 down in the competition and with Alvin at an all time low. The chipmunks and chipettes are going to have to muster up the strength, with the help of Dave, to get back on track and get back on track and get back in the competition.

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**How will the chipmunk team bounce back from this defeat?**

**Thanks for reading, please review. :)**


	20. Stepping it Up

**Thanks for all the encouraging and inspirational reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter; it covers some of the emotions that are flowing through the team.**

* * *

The first round of the competition was over and done with; it was in the past and the outcome could not be changed. The chipmunks all arrived back at the house with Dave; feeling disappointed about the result but needing to focus on the future and the next round of the competition.

Alvin was most definitely not looking to the future as he traipsed into the living room hanging his head in shame; he was still dwelling on the past putting himself through the events over and over again in his head. The others were also headed for the living room in a slightly better mood than Alvin; they knew that they had gotten the dodge ball match over and done with, which was a relief.

The six of them sat down on the couch and chairs in the living room and turned the television on; expecting to see their dodge ball match on the local news channel. Before they had the chance of being depressed by the coverage of their defeat, Dave stepped into the living room area and switched the television off.

"Why did you switch the TV off?" Simon asked curiously.

"It's for the best." Dave replied. "Listen guys, if you sit watching the match again and again, it's not going to be of any help."

"We should at least see what we did wrong." Simon said.

"That won't be useful; you aren't playing dodge ball again. You'd be better planning for the next round than looking back at the last one; it can't be changed." Dave reasoned.

"Dave's right." Brittany agreed. "We need to make sure we're ready for the chess round, and that we win it."

She had noticed that Alvin's spirit had dropped and he looked down trodden, she didn't want the whole team to suffer the same fate. Hopefully lifting the team's spirit would help lift Alvin's, and that would do wonders for the team as a whole.

"We will win." Eleanor said.

"We just have to work hard." Jeanette added.

"That's it, you have to be positive." Dave agreed. "Look to the next round and make sure you beat the jocks at chess."

Dave walked out of the room as he finished his uplifting pep talk, leaving the chipmunks and chipettes to decide their next move.

"Dave's right." Simon said. "We should prepare for the next round."

"Let's strike while the iron is hot." Jeanette suggested.

"Right. I'll go and get my book on chess." Simon said.

"I don't know anything about chess." Eleanor confessed.

"Don't worry Elle, we'll help you learn." Theodore encouraged.

"Yeah, we'll all help you as best we can." Brittany added.

"You've got our support." Jeanette said.

"I'll try my best." Eleanor replied, knowing that with all the help she'll receive she can learn how to play.

Simon returned with his chess book and opened it on the table in the living room; ready to teach Eleanor the rules of the game. The others gathered around the book ready to lend a helping hand to Eleanor; all except Alvin who decided to go to the bedroom to rest. He sneaked out of the living room unnoticed, or so he thought, and went to lie down on his bunk bed. Little did he know, Brittany had noticed that he had left, but thought it was best for him to be left alone for a while.

Simon and Jeanette began showing Eleanor all the fundamental basics of the game, with Theodore and Brittany waiting in support to aid them in any way possible. Alvin remained in the bedroom on his own; thinking of all the stick that he's going to get from Ryan and his band of jocks, and how pathetic he must have looked in comparison to them. He wouldn't be able to regain his place in the football team if he puts in performances like the dodge ball match, and he certainly wouldn't have impressed anyone.

"Can I help with anything?" Brittany asked the others as she was feeling a bit left out; she didn't really understand chess.

"Sure, we need the chess set to practise on." Simon suggested.

"I'll get it." Brittany replied.

"It's under the bed." Simon added as Brittany left the living room area and entered the bedroom.

On entering the bedroom Brittany couldn't spot Alvin anywhere, and came to the conclusion that he was on his bed. She headed over to the bunk bed he was on and started looking underneath it for the chess set Simon had told her about.

"Are you okay Alvin?" She asked as she rummaged through the discarded junk under the bed.

Alvin didn't reply; Brittany expected this and knew that he wanted some time alone, but she didn't want him to wallow about the house acting miserable.

"Okay, I'll come back later," Brittany said, pulling the chess set out from underneath the bed and dragging it away to the living room area.

Alvin was feeling down and wasn't in the mood to talk; not even to Brittany, who always seemed to cheer him up. Even though Brittany had left the bedroom, she wasn't going to let him sit around blaming himself; she was determined to go back and cheer him up.

Brittany returned to the living room area with the chess set, and jumped back up onto the table to check how the others were getting on.

Simon and Jeanette were still explaining chess to Eleanor; telling her how each of the individual pieces could move on the chess board. Theodore was stood observing from a distance, scratching his head trying to figure out what they were talking about.

Brittany strolled over to join Theodore, curious as to how far they had gotten with the rules and regulations in the chess book.

"How many pages does that book have?" Brittany said impatiently.

Theodore shrugged and looked at the book; it had lots of pages and they weren't even close to half way through.

"I hope they don't have to read through it all." Brittany said.

"Yeah, it sounds really difficult." Theodore replied.

"Hey guys, do you need the chess set yet?" Brittany interrupted, not feeling very important.

"Oh, yeah, can you set it up for us?" Simon replied.

"Sure. Come on Theo," Brittany said walking back over to the chess set.

Brittany jumped off the table and began positioning the chess set for lifting up. Theodore arrived above on the table and helped move the chess set from the floor to the table top.

"Good, now all we have to do is figure out how to set it up." Brittany said taking the lid of the box.

The two of them got the chess board out of the box and then moved on to organising the pieces. They were stumped by this part as neither of them were familiar with chess and they certainly didn't know where any of the pieces went on the board.

"Now what?" Brittany asked.

"Maybe there are some instructions." Theodore suggested.

Sure enough on closer observation of the chess box, they found some instructions printed on the inside of the lid, informing them of what the pieces were and where they needed to be positioned.

"All we need to do is follow the instructions." Brittany said confidently. "Piece of cake."

Half an hour later and Brittany and Theodore had more or less finished setting the chess board up, with most of the pieces in the right places. Eleanor was still being tutored how to play chess by Simon and Jeanette, and they didn't seem to have gotten any further through the book.

"That was hard work." Theodore said feeling slightly tired from all of the lifting that they had done.

"It took longer than expected." Brittany agreed as she brushed the back of her hand across her forehead.

"Dinner's ready." Dave called from the kitchen.

Theodore forgot all about being tired when he heard the word dinner; with all the hassle of setting up the chess set he had forgotten how hungry he was.

"Oh, dinner." Theodore said jumping off the table and hightailing to the dining table.

The others followed him and made it to the table with time to spare; Dave hadn't brought the food through yet and was just finishing setting the table.

"Dinner will be ready momentarily." Dave announced, before noticing that the table was short of one Alvin. "Where's Alvin?"

Simon, Theodore, Jeanette and Eleanor all looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces; they hadn't noticed that Alvin had disappeared until they had sat down at the table. Only Brittany knew where he was because she was intent on keeping a close eye on him.

"He's in the bedroom." Brittany replied.

"Well, will somebody go get him? Dinner's ready." Dave answered.

"I'll do it." Brittany volunteered eagerly.

She jumped up from the table and headed hastily to the bedroom; not wanting Alvin to be late for dinner or to make her late for dinner as well. On arriving at the entrance of the bedroom, Brittany had an idea; Alvin always played tricks on her and tried to scare her, so now it was her turn.

Brittany quietly tip toed across the bedroom towards Alvin's bunk bed being extra careful not to make a sound, before beginning to climb the ladder to his bunk. Alvin wouldn't expect her to be there, he probably thought that she was at the dinner table. Brittany couldn't wait to see the look on his face, as she climbed to the top of the ladder. Positioning herself stealthily near the edge of the bed but still out of sight, she prepared to give Alvin the fright of his life. Maybe it would cheer him up a bit, she thought it was worth a try and why not; she could give him some deserved comeuppance in the process.

Brittany readied herself and leapt onto the bed in one fell swoop, landing on Alvin from a distance, performing a perfect sneak attack. Alvin continued to lie there, looking up at the ceiling; not even remotely phased by Brittany's surprise entrance. This disappointed her as she could never seem to get him back for any of the pranks that he pulled on her.

"Why didn't it work?" Brittany said to herself out loud, with a frown on her face.

"Hi Britt," Alvin said, sighing in despair.

Brittany knew there was something bothering him; it was eating him up inside, she lay with her head rested on his chest, looking up at him with a concerned look on her face.

"Tell me what's bothering you Alvin." Brittany said.

Alvin continued to stare despondently at the ceiling.

"I want to help you. Remember what Dave said about sharing problems?" Brittany added.

Alvin looked down at her resting her head on his chest; realising that she was right, Dave had told them to share their problems.

"Tell me?" Brittany asked looking him straight in the eyes.

"Okay." Alvin replied.

He took a deep breath, raising Brittany's head up on his chest, before proceeding to elaborate on his reason for feeling so down.

"Well, it's partly to do with losing the dodge ball match." Alvin explained.

"And what's the other part?" Brittany asked urging him to continue.

"And...the damage that it's going to do to my reputation." Alvin confessed.

"It won't." Brittany reassured.

"I lost to Ryan and looked weak in the process." Alvin reiterated. "How is that not going to damage my reputation?"

"It won't, trust me." Brittany answered.

Alvin looked at her doubtingly; his reputation and image were sure to take a knock from being seen losing a dodge ball match on live television.

"I'm your biggest fan, and my opinion of you hasn't changed a bit." Brittany assured.

This made Alvin feel a little better, knowing that Brittany still held a high opinion of him was comforting to know. Brittany batted her eyelids and then stretched her arms above her head, as she rested it on his chest. Alvin smiled as he saw Brittany looking up at him; he still had her support no matter what.

"I am your biggest fan, aren't I?" Brittany questioned in an alluring fashion as she got up and headed for the ladder.

"You sure are." Alvin agreed with a smile on his face.

Brittany lured him out of his depressive state and made him feel better, as well as leading him off the bed and in the direction of the dining table.

"Thanks Britt." Alvin said as he caught up with her. "You know I'm **your **biggest fan."

He held her hand as they left the bedroom side by side and headed for the dining table; slightly late for dinner.

"It's about time you two came to the table." Dave said as they walked into view of the dining table. "Your dinner is going cold."

"Sorry Dave." Brittany replied.

Alvin and Brittany quickly joined the others at the table and began tucking into their dinner. After a while Dave decided to give the six of them a briefing on the next stage of the competition and debrief them on the day's events.

"I hope you're all feeling okay now that the first round is over." Dave said.

"Relief would be the word for it." Simon replied.

"Yeah, I'm so glad it's over." Theodore added.

"I just don't want you to get hooked up on the last round that's all." Dave explained. "It can't be helped that the result went their way, but you did really well to put in a good showing. You were unlucky that's all."

"I guess you could put it that way." Simon commented.

"You all handled the media and press conference very well." Dave continued to praise. "You girls seemed to have comfortably dealt with the interviewers on your first experience, and you boys handled the press conference pretty well; not cracking under the pressure."

Alvin kept his head down; remembering that he had taken all of the blame during the press conference and felt slightly guilty of faltering under pressure.

"So to keep the momentum going I think we should start preparing for the next round." Dave suggested.

"Way ahead of you." Simon answered.

"You've already started?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, we're getting on great." Jeanette replied.

"I've learnt a lot about chess already." Eleanor added.

"We'll be able to beat those bullies if we keep training," Theodore said encouragingly.

"It sounds like you've got it all under control." Dave said. "The only other thing that you have to prepare for is the pre match press conference."

"We have to do one before the chess round?" Brittany questioned.

"Yes, but only those of you who are competing in the chess matches." Dave explained.

"When is it?" Eleanor asked.

"It's the day before the next round; about 3:00pm Wednesday." Dave replied. "The venue isn't decided yet but will probably be the music room."

"Will it be a similar set up to the last one?" Simon questioned.

"Yes, so be prepared to answer a lot of questions." Dave answered.

"It'll be simple; we know everything there is to know about chess." Simon said confidently.

"Yeah, we have the upper hand." Jeanette agreed.

They all finished their dinner and left the table and the dirty dishes to return to their previous engagements. Dave was left to clear the dinner table by himself. Simon, Theodore, Jeanette and Eleanor all returned to the living room to continue with the chess training. While Alvin went back into the bedroom, closely followed by Brittany.

Alvin climbed up onto his bunk and was joined by Brittany shortly after. The two of them sat in silence for a while before Alvin decided to tell Brittany what was on his mind.

"I feel guilty about losing the dodge ball match," Alvin confessed.

"Why?" Brittany asked curiously.

"I was the last man standing...twice, and I blew it big time." Alvin explained.

"You couldn't have helped it." Brittany comforted.

"So I feel like I'm responsible for the team losing." Alvin continued. "That's why I felt that I was the weak link of the team. I was weak and I blew it."

"You're not weak and it wasn't your fault." Brittany reassured assertively. "You're stronger than me for a start."

"That's not hard, but thanks for trying to cheer me up." Alvin replied.

"Did you call me weak?" Brittany questioned; realising what Alvin had just implied.

"Err...maybe." Alvin answered slowly.

"I'm not as weak as you think." Brittany said. "Besides, you couldn't lift me when you were doing push ups."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Alvin questioned.

"Prove me wrong." Brittany challenged playfully.

"Fine." Alvin replied reluctantly accepting the challenge.

He lay down on his bed and did a few quick push ups to prepare himself. Brittany waited for him to lie flat on his bed before jumping onto his back and pinning him down.

"Now who's weak?" Brittany asked as she attempted to hold him down.

Alvin rolled over and escaped Brittany's attempt at restraining him; sending her rolling onto the bed.

"Not me." Alvin replied confidently.

Brittany landed on her back and was immediately pounced on by Alvin. He pinned her arms and legs down and smirked victoriously as he had proven how strong he was.

"Okay, okay, you win." Brittany said after her futile escape attempts had failed.

Alvin let her up after hearing the words 'you win'; that's all he wanted to hear, his competitiveness was still as strong as ever. Brittany sat up and looked across at him as he sat beside her.

"Here's your reward for beating me." Brittany said leaning in towards him.

Alvin didn't need an invitation, he was all for advancing their relationship; reinforcing the commitment he had towards her. The two of them slowly moved towards each other; their faces moving ever closer. Brittany closed her eyes in anticipation; seeing this Alvin closed his also closed his eyes in reciprocation. The next thing Alvin knew, he had his hood pulled over his head and was left to kiss thin air.

"Psych." Brittany said laughing at him. "Did you really think I'd give in that easily?"

Alvin removed his hood from over his head, slightly annoyed by Brittany's trickery and the fact that he was looking forward to the intimate moment. But all that he saw was an empty bed; no Brittany in sight. Alvin got to his feet to go look for her, but was immediately knocked down to the bed again. Brittany sat on top of him stopping him from getting up; once again pinning him down.

"Gotcha." Brittany teased.

"You sure are persistent." Alvin replied.

He attempted to do a push up, but was hindered by Brittany sat on his back.

"How much do you weigh?" Alvin commented jokingly.

Brittany immediately punched him in the arm, not approving of his reference to her weight.

"That joke's getting old." Brittany said.

"It's no joke." Alvin replied laughing.

"Alright, you asked for it." Brittany said playfully.

She began tickling Alvin's side and made him burst out laughing; she knew this was just one of his weaknesses that she could exploit.

"You'd better promise not to joke about my weight ever again." Brittany said as she continued to tickle Alvin into submission.

"O-okay, I promise." Alvin replied through his laughter.

Brittany let him get free from her pin but continued to tickle him as he attempted to flee. Alvin's laughter was contagious and Brittany joined in as she continued to chase him across the bed.

"Guys?" Theodore's voice asked from down below.

Alvin and Brittany controlled and tamed their laughter before wandering to the edge of the bed and peering down. Theodore had entered the bedroom to see if they were okay as he was curious about all the laughter that could probably have been heard from in the living room.

"Are you alright?" Theodore asked sensitively.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Brittany replied happily.

Alvin leapt down off the bunk bed to join Theodore at ground level, itching to talk to him about the dodge ball match.

"Listen, Theo, I really messed up in the dodge ball match and didn't look out for you guys." Alvin explained. "And it was my fault that we lost as a result. What I'm really trying to say is...I'm sorry."

Theodore stood smiling at him; appreciating the sentiment of his apology and the fact that he was thinking about his brothers and the rest of the team.

"You don't need to be sorry." Theodore replied. "It wasn't your fault; we're a team, we share the blame."

Alvin felt much better from hearing this, it almost brought a tear to his eye; knowing that his brothers were still by his side. Theodore walked over to him and hugged him in an attempt to make him feel better. Alvin put an arm around Theodore to respond to his act of kindness.

Brittany was still watching the two of them from atop the bunk bed, not wanting to intrude on their brotherly moment. Alvin waved to her to come and join them as she may have felt left out, beckoning her down from the top bunk. She jumped down and joined Alvin; resting her head on his shoulder and putting an arm around his back. Brittany felt that this was an emotional moment for the two of them and that their relationship had taken a step up.

The three of them entered into the living room area to check up on the progress being made in the chess tutoring. Simon, Jeanette and Eleanor were now using the chess set that had been set up earlier, and were half way through a game. Simon was playing against Eleanor who was being assisted by Jeanette; she was beginning to show some promise as she had already picked up the rules of the game and was making strong headway into putting them into practise.

Alvin and Brittany walked past the table where the chess match was taking place, and jumped up onto the couch to watch television. The two of them snuggled up together; feeling closer than ever before, holding hands as they shared each other's warmth.

Theodore stopped off at the table, leaving Alvin and Brittany to have some privacy, and decided to see how Eleanor was getting on with the game.

"How are you doing, Elle?" Theodore asked.

"I'm struggling, but I have Jeanette to help me." Eleanor replied.

"You'll get the hang of it," Jeanette encouraged.

"Yeah, you just need to practise some more." Theodore agreed.

"Can we please concentrate on the game?" Simon interrupted.

They all turned to face the chess board again after Simon had prompted them.

"He's annoyed because he's not winning." Jeanette whispered.

Simon caught on to what Jeanette was talking about and frowned at her, before continuing to contemplate his next move.

"I'll leave you all to practise," Theodore said as he jumped down off the table. "I'll go and see what Dave is up to."

Theodore left the living room and headed for the music room where Dave was hard at work. Upon entering, he could see that Dave was busy on his computer and so decided to lend a helping hand. Theodore jumped up onto the desk next to Dave and began to check the screen; there was a poster on it promoting their tour of England.

"What do you think?" Dave asked hopefully.

"It's great, I can't wait." Theodore replied.

"There are plenty of other posters, want to check them out?" Dave asked.

"Sure." Theodore replied enthusiastically.

The two of them looked through the posters; choosing the best ones and altering the not so good ones. Dave had been very busy as the collection of posters was almost endless. After Dave and Theodore had finally managed to tackle the entire selection of poster, then looked at the time; it was already past 9pm. The extensive look through the tour posters had eaten up a lot of time and bed time was almost upon them.

"Well that certainly took a while." Dave said leaning back in his chair and stretching. "It's almost time for bed."

Theodore jumped down off the desk and headed for the living room area; Dave turned the computer off and followed him. The two of them stopped as they entered the living room; Dave spotted Alvin and Brittany sat snugly together on the couch.

"At least they're not fighting." Dave commented.

"I think it's cute." Theodore replied.

"I suppose." Dave replied eying the two of them up.

Theodore continued to watch the two of them until his stomach began to rumble; he had been concentrating on helping Dave with his work so much that he had worked up an appetite.

"Dave, I'm hungry." Theodore informed him.

"Well, you did help me with my work; so I guess you can have something." Dave answered. "Go to the kitchen, and I'll be there in just a second to get you something to eat."

Theodore scurried off to the kitchen in anticipation of getting something tasty to eat; leaving Dave to check up on the others. Dave walked over to the table where Simon, Jeanette and Eleanor were still playing chess; they looked to be near the end of their game.

"It's nearly bed time guys." Dave warned, "As soon as you finish your game, make your way to bed, okay?"

"But this game could take hours." Simon protested.

"It won't take much longer." Jeanette reassured Dave.

"Sounding confident; we'll soon see about that." Simon replied competitively.

"Okay, just make sure that you head for bed straight after." Dave reiterated before heading for the kitchen.

Theodore was waiting on the kitchen counter, his stomach becoming impatient and making its feelings known. Dave walked in and immediately headed for the cupboard to retrieve some food for him.

"It sounds like you're hungry," Dave said.

"Yeah." Theodore replied giggling.

Dave took a cookie from the cupboard and handed it to Theodore before heading for the fridge. He took out a carton of milk and poured it into a glass; he then placed it in front of Theodore and put a straw in it.

"Thanks Dave," Theodore said between nibbling on the cookie.

"Promise you'll go to bed after?" Dave asked.

"Okay." Theodore said happily eating his snack.

Dave returned to the living room to find that Simon, Jeanette and Eleanor had finished their chess game and headed off to bed. That just left Alvin and Brittany; who were still sat closely together on the couch. Dave sat down on a chair opposite them; it seemed a shame to break up the tender moment, but he needed to talk to Alvin.

"Listen Alvin, I wanted to have a chat with you." Dave said hinting that the conversation was a private one.

Alvin put his arm around Brittany; signalling that he wanted her to stay. Dave saw this and knew that Alvin didn't want to leave Brittany's side for the time being.

"Brittany can stay if she wants." Dave reassured. "It wasn't anything personal I wanted to talk about, just the dodge ball match."

Alvin looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face, Brittany also looked slightly curious about the conversation.

"I want you to know that I don't blame you for not winning the match and neither do the rest of the team." Dave explained.

Alvin smiled, he was happy to hear it coming from Dave; as he saw him as the team manager. Brittany looked across at Alvin and smiled; she had already told him that it wasn't his fault and now Dave had backed her up.

"And you shouldn't be down about it. You'll bounce back from it; you just have to believe in yourself again and in your brothers. The team can't win without you and that's a fact. Have faith in yourself and you'll find the strength from within that you need to defeat the jocks." Dave continued, reeling off his inspirational speech.

Alvin sat in silence with a smile on his face; glad that the team and Dave still believe in him. Dave was right he just needed his self belief; he was already awesome, he just needed to believe in his own ability. After all, from is temporary but class is permanent.

Alvin and Brittany both got up from the couch and headed off to bed after being ushered by Dave; it was now closer to 10pm than 9. Dave went to tidy the kitchen before returning to the bedroom to say good night to the six of them.

"Night, make sure you get some rest, you have a lot of work to do tomorrow." Dave said before closing the door, leaving it ajar for a little bit of light to enter.

"He's right; we have got a lot of work to do." Simon agreed.

"We've made good progress though." Jeanette added.

"Let's just get some rest for tomorrow." Eleanor suggested.

"Good idea." Theodore agreed.

The six of them slowly drifted off to sleep; exhausted from the long series of events that had taken place in the space of a day. Alvin went to sleep with a weight lifted off his shoulders, Dave had told him that he wasn't to blame for the loss in round one and that he still had faith in his ability. Brittany had also shown her belief in him and that she really cared for him no matter what had happened between them in the past.

Brittany also went to sleep with concurring thoughts of their relationship, realising that the bond between them was stronger than ever after the previous events that they had been through. It was evident to her that their relationship was improving every day and that their feelings for each other had taken a step up.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, and please review :)**


	21. Competition Plus Homework Equals Trouble

**As you may be able to tell, this chapter spells trouble for the chipmunks; with the jocks still plaguing them. Enjoy.**

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The day of reckoning had passed; with Alvin taking most of the punishment, but it was now in the past and they all had to move on. It was now a Tuesday, and the chipmunks and chipettes all woke up bright and early; feeling refreshed from a good night's sleep. Alvin was surprisingly upbeat, following Dave's pep talk the previous night; it was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. A sense of relief filled the air, the six of them didn't have the pressure of the competition upon them as it was two days until the chess round, and the press conference was not until tomorrow afternoon.

It was much easier to for the six of them to drag themselves out of bed due to the absence of the burden of the competition. Alvin jumped out of bed and headed for the bathroom; Brittany too jumped off her bed and met up with him on the way to the bathroom.

"Morning Britt." Alvin said happily.

"Morning." She replied. "You seem a lot happier this morning."

"Yeah, I feel happier. What Dave said last night really got through to me." Alvin explained.

"I'm glad, I don't like seeing you all depressed; it just isn't you." Brittany replied.

"Ladies first." Alvin said as they arrived at the bathroom door.

"Thanks Alvin." Brittany giggled before going in.

She liked it when he was in a good mood, he seemed to be more sensitive and caring; and he didn't tease her.

Before long, the others arrived at the bathroom and joined the queue. Jeanette and Eleanor went into the bathroom, joining Brittany who had already been in there for a couple of minutes, leaving the three chipmunks waiting outside. Alvin looked upbeat and cheerful, drawing questions from his brothers.

"You look happy today." Simon said. "What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing, I just feel happier than usual." Alvin replied

"You do know there's school today?" Simon quizzed.

"I know." Alvin replied.

Simon and Theodore looked at each other with confusion; Alvin was never usually happy on a school morning. They both shrugged at each other before turning towards Alvin once again.

The chipettes finally emerged from the bathroom and went back to the bedroom; leaving the chipmunks to take their turn. After the six of them had used the bathroom and gotten changed, they all headed through to the dining table for breakfast.

On approaching the table, they noticed that it wasn't set for breakfast; this was strange as Dave always served up their breakfast right on time. But before the six of them had time to contemplate the change in routine, Dave walked out of the kitchen with their breakfasts.

"We're having breakfast in the living room this morning," Dave informed them, "So go any make yourselves comfy."

Dave entered the living room area and placed three bowls on the table, before returning to the kitchen to retrieve the rest. The chipmunks and chipettes all made their way into the living room and hopped up onto the table in anticipation of breakfast. Sure enough Dave returned with the rest of the meal and then sat down on the couch next to the table. The six of them were now looking at Dave with curious and puzzled expressions across their faces.

"I guess you're wondering why we're having breakfast in here." Dave said.

"Yeah." Alvin replied.

"Why?" Brittany asked

"Well, I know I said about not watching the dodge ball match because it wouldn't be helpful. But you did show a lot of teamwork and determination, so I want you to see that regardless of the result you did yourselves proud."

"I'm not looking forward to this." Alvin said.

"Who _is_?" Simon agreed.

Dave turned on the television and switched it to the local news channel; the coverage was just beginning and the pre match interview with Dave was just concluding.

"You look really professional, Dave." Eleanor commented.

"You really think so?" He questioned.

"Yeah." Theodore replied.

They all watched the first round of the match and listened to the far from flattering commentary from the commentators. This was not very reassuring; the commentators made it sound like they had played terribly.

"Don't listen to them." Brittany said.

"They're over exaggerating." Jeanette reassured.

Following straight on from the match was the interview on the team bench with Brittany. Seeing this, Brittany covered her eyes in an attempt to avoid watching the awful interview. It lasted just half a minute or so, but was abysmal in Brittany's eyes nonetheless.

"I think you did okay." Alvin reassured her.

"It was awful, you saw it." Brittany replied.

"It was your first time." Alvin reminded. "You didn't cave in under the pressure."

"Well, I guess you have a point." Brittany said. "As long as _you_ think it's alright."

The interview swiftly continued once Jeanette and Eleanor had joined their sister on the team bench. They handled the interview well and came across as very supportive; the three of them defending their counterparts under questioning. Brittany stated her confidence and belief in Alvin, Jeanette defended Simon by interrupting the interviewer and putting the record straight, while Eleanor was polite throughout and backed Theodore's performance with their tactics.

Alvin, Simon and Theodore felt much better after seeing the interview; they could all see how genuinely supportive the chipettes were being.

"Thanks Britt," Alvin said putting an arm around her.

Brittany welcomed the attention and was happy that some good had come from the interview.

"Wow, you stood up to him," Simon said, "Thanks for being so supportive."

"I had to; he wasn't being fair on you." Jeanette replied blushing modestly.

The two of them were feeling that the trust and respect in their relationship was restoring itself.

"Thanks for backing me up." Theodore praised. "You were really polite and caring in the interview."

"It was nothing." Eleanor replied happily, feeling great for helping Theodore and the rest of the team in the interview.

Theodore's respect for Eleanor would have increased if it were possible, as the relationship between them was practically perfect to a tee.

The coverage continued with the second round of the dodge ball match being shown, before continuing to show the jocks celebrating their victory. This made Alvin's blood boil; he was determined to make amends for his mistakes and seeing the jocks parading about the court victoriously just made him more and more anxious to set the record straight with them.

The interview soon followed; with Alvin confessing to being the weak link of the team. He came across as being genuinely truthful and taking the blame away from his brothers in a caring manner.

"Maybe taking the blame wasn't such a bad idea after all." Alvin said.

"It was a thoughtful think to do." Brittany replied. "But it was still the wrong way to do it."

"At least I came across as being responsible." Alvin commented.

"If you can call it that." Simon replied.

The coverage finished and they all finished their breakfasts with just enough time to get ready for school. The day would be the same as any other; boring lessons, except Alvin was determined to prove his worth against Ryan and his jocks.

Before long, Dave had parked his car in the parking lot and they had all convened at their lockers in the usual manner.

"Try to focus on your school work, okay?" Dave said.

"We'll try." Alvin replied making no promises.

Dave frowned at him and gave a telling glare.

"I'll see you all later." Dave said as he turned and walked away down the hall.

The chipmunks and chipettes went about their usual routine of rummaging through their lockers; finding the stuff they needed for their classes. There was just a few minutes left until the start of school; Theodore and Eleanor decided to move on to their class.

"We'll see you at break." Eleanor said.

"Bye, guys." Theodore said.

The two of them left; leaving the others to finish preparing for class and go.

"Remember what Dave said; try and focus on your school work, you don't want your grades slipping." Simon warned.

"Whatever." Alvin replied not sounding bothered about it.

"If they can slip any lower." Simon added.

Alvin gave him an evil look; just because he hasn't got high grades doesn't mean he's dumb.

"Let's go Simon, we'll be late." Jeanette intervened preventing the two of them from sparking up an argument.

"Talking of work, we haven't had any homework for a while." Brittany said as her and Alvin left the lockers and headed in the opposite direction of Simon and Jeanette.

"Don't say that, you'll jinx it." Alvin said hastily.

"I'm just saying." Brittany replied.

"Homework is the last thing we need." Alvin said.

They went to their lessons and all got the first part of the school day over with; managing to make it to the break, without falling asleep with boredom in Alvin's case. Escaping their class at the ringing of the bell, Alvin and Brittany headed for the lockers to meet up with the others for a brief chat.

"Phew, I'm glad we didn't get any homework after you jinxed it." Alvin said sighing with relief.

"Don't be silly, that's just superstition." Brittany replied passively. "Just because I 'jinxed it' doesn't mean it's going to happen."

"Well, it could have." Alvin protested.

"Don't worry; we still have the rest of the school day." Brittany teased. "It could still happen."

This made Alvin frown, he didn't like homework and he especially didn't want to be joked around about it. To him it was the worst thing ever; it takes time outside of school hours to do and it's hard, as well as being a complete waste of time and effort. The two of them walked round a corner and towards their lockers where the others were already stood talking.

"Hey, guys." Alvin said as the two of them arrived.

"What're you up to?" Brittany asked.

"We were just discussing the chess practise we need to do." Simon replied.

"It'd be best to try and get some done at lunch." Jeanette suggested.

"A little extra practise wouldn't hurt." Eleanor added.

Just as they began discussing their plans for chess training at lunch time, Alvin spotted the jocks walking down the hallway in their direction. He stepped to the front of their group; standing between the jocks and the rest of the chipmunks. Ryan walked dangerously close them for Alvin's liking; making sure that they all noticed that him and his jocks were passing by. Alvin took a defensive stance and had a threatening look on his face; in an attempt to repel the jocks and show that he wasn't going to be intimidated.

"Ooh, I'm so scared." Ryan said sarcastically.

"You should be," Xander pointed out. "Remember what happened to us last time?"

Ryan punched him in the arm and gave him an evil glare; disapproving of his habit of stating the obvious and most of all showing him up. The jocks carried on walking, leaving the chipmunks to resume their conversation in peace; with Alvin stood watching Ryan with his arms firmly folded.

"Phew." Theodore said. "I thought they were going to come after us."

"Not with Alvin guarding us." Brittany replied with pride.

"Yeah, good work Alvin." Jeanette praised.

"You sure showed them." Eleanor added.

"They were fazed by Alvin _and_ me, you know." Simon informed.

"Huh, how?" Brittany questioned.

"We attacked them a while back, to teach them a lesson." Simon explained.

"Really?" Jeanette asked curiously.

"Yeah, the jocks were teasing me," Theodore continued. "And Alvin and Simon made them stop."

"The rivalry between you and the jocks goes back further than just the sports team thing." Brittany said.

"Yeah, and that's why we have to beat them." Alvin stated with intent.

"So we need to practise as much as possible." Simon agreed.

"Should we do some practise at lunchtime then?" Eleanor questioned.

"Yes, and we can use the chess board outside to our advantage." Simon replied. "What do you say?"

"I'm in." Jeanette replied.

"Me too." Eleanor answered.

"I'll help as well." Theodore added.

Alvin stood in silence, still caught up in the jocks rivalry; plotting his revenge for them for making him look weak. Brittany looked across at him to see if he was paying any attention at all; he clearly wasn't.

"Alvin?" Simon asked, snapping him out of his daydreaming.

"Um, no thanks." Alvin replied. "I don't understand all that chess stuff. I'll just hang out at lunch."

"Fine, Brittany?" Simon continued.

"I wouldn't want to get in your way; I'll just hang out with Alvin at lunch." Brittany replied.

"Okay, well it's almost time for class again." Simon concluded.

"We'll all meet up for lunch." Eleanor suggested.

"Definitely." Theodore replied enthusiastically.

"That settles that." Simon said, "We'll see you all later."

Simon and Jeanette left the others to make their way to class early. This left Alvin, Brittany, Theodore and Eleanor at the lockers.

"Are you sure you won't join us at lunchtime for chess?" Theodore asked.

"It won't bother us." Eleanor added.

"No thanks, besides three's a crowd." Alvin replied.

"But there will be four of us." Theodore said.

"It's a figure of speech." Alvin explained before turning and walking away down the hall to his next class.

"Sorry guys." Brittany said before following after Alvin.

Theodore still had a slightly puzzled look on his face; he didn't understand what Alvin had meant. Eleanor looked at him and noticed his confusion.

"If three is a crowd, what is four?" Theodore asked.

"Let's go to class." Eleanor said changing the conversation to the matter of being on time for class.

Later on at lunchtime, Dave, the chipmunks and the chipettes all sat down for lunch together and discussed their training for the next round. They quickly finished their lunches in an attempt to maximise their practising time on the chess board; Dave departed from the table in his usual manner, leaving just the six of them.

"Let's go play some chess." Simon suggested.

"Okay, see you guys later." Brittany said as the four of them got down from the table and headed outside.

Brittany turned to Alvin but found that he was no longer there. She noticed that his tray wasn't on the table; so he must have taken it back. Looking across to the food counter, Brittany caught sight of Alvin exiting through the open double doors of the cafeteria. This was a little confusing; why was Alvin sneaking out of the cafeteria without her, when they were supposed to be hanging out together. Maybe he didn't want to hang out with her, or maybe she was being too paranoid. Brittany pondered Alvin's stealthy exit as she picked up her tray and headed to the counter to return it. Suddenly it dawned on her, maybe Alvin wanted to keep her out of harm's way; the jocks were nowhere to be seen, which meant that he must be going to confront them. On summing this up in her mind and returning her lunch tray, Brittany dashed out of the cafeteria in desperation; not wanting Alvin to face up to the jocks and get hurt.

Meanwhile, the others were setting up their chess game ready for some extra practise.

"I don't know who used this last, but they left it in a mess." Simon said as he kicked an empty milk carton out of the way.

"I guess we'll have to tidy it up." Eleanor said.

"I'll do it." Theodore volunteered. "You start playing."

"Thanks Theo." Jeanette replied appreciatively.

The three of them began their game and gave Theodore the helpful job of removing the litter from the table they were using. Theodore picked up the empty milk carton and made his way across the courtyard to put it in the bin; leaving the others to play their match in peace. Once again he pondered what Alvin had said; as he threw the litter into the trash can and turned to return to lend his support at the chess game. An unwanted sight waited as he looked over at the chess table; the jocks were now stood in front of the others and were looking menacing.

"Getting in some practise are we?" Ryan said looking down on the three of them.

"What do you want?" Simon replied.

"We could do with some practise ourselves; so move over, it's our turn." Ryan announced.

"We only just got here." Simon protested.

"Can't you wait your turn?" Eleanor added.

"Let's see, there are six of us and only three of you." Ryan replied. "Looks like stalemate."

"It's 'checkmate' actually, not 'stalemate'." Simon corrected.

"You think you're smart don't you?" Ryan said becoming annoyed by Simon's wise guy attitude.

He had made Ryan look stupid several times in the past and again he had succeeded in doing so. The other jocks sniggered to themselves behind Ryan, which just made him angry and he was going to take it out on Simon.

"Fine, it's your turn." Ryan said angrily before swiping at Simon.

Simon was hit by Ryan's backhand swing and launched into a nearby bush; leaving Jeanette and Eleanor to face the jocks alone.

"Anyone else in the mood to argue?" Ryan asked.

The two chipettes shook their heads in unison; crossing the jocks is the last thing they wanted to do.

"I didn't think so. Listen up; unless you want to end up like your friend in the bush over there, I suggest you listen to me very carefully. You are going to lose the next round, on purpose, and you're not going to tell anyone, you got that?" Ryan threatened.

Jeanette and Eleanor stood together in silence, dreading what Ryan would do, their eyes becoming teary. They were scared for their safety, and rightfully so, with Ryan towering over them in and intimidating manner.

"Well make sure you do, or else." Ryan threatened again, before leaving the chipettes and rounding up his jocks.

"That was scary." Jeanette said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Don't worry Jen." Eleanor comforted, putting on a brave face. "They won't get us; Dave and the guys will make sure of it."

Eleanor hugged Jeanette, making sure that she wasn't too upset about the whole incident, and also keeping an eye on the jocks who were heading back towards the cafeteria.

Alvin was patrolling around the school hallways in search of the jocks; he was determined to find Ryan and confront him. He just had to find him; summing up his options he decided to ask around for the jocks' whereabouts. Alvin approached a group of girls in the hallway, one of whom was Becca from homeroom, and proceeded to get any tips on Ryan's location.

"Hello ladies," Alvin said turning on his charm.

"Hey Alvin." Becca replied ahead of the other girls.

"I need to ask you..." Alvin continued before being interrupted.

"Out?" Becca suggested enthusiastically before realising what she had said, and then backing down.

"No, sorry, but you'd be near the top of my list." Alvin answered being flirty.

"Wow," Becca said feeling flush. "Near the top."

"Do any of you know where Ryan is?" Alvin asked becoming more serious.

"The last time we saw him was in the cafeteria." One of the other girls replied pointing out the direction.

Alvin turned to look towards the cafeteria; he had just come from there and was certain that the jocks weren't in there. As he looked down the corridor he spotted Brittany, who seemed to be looking for him.

Brittany made her way down the hall and noticed that Alvin was stood talking to a group of girls. Evidently she had misjudged the situation; he wasn't hunting down the jocks, he was sneaking off to flirt with girls. This made her slightly angry and annoyed with after she thought that he might be in danger; but instead he is hanging out with some girls, one of which was looking giddy at the prospect of talking to him.

Brittany marched over to Alvin and stood behind him as he continued to talk to the girls.

"Thanks for the help." Alvin said.

"I'm near the top of your list?" Becca asked giddily.

"I said 'near', the top is reserved for someone special." Alvin replied, before turning away and almost walking into Brittany, not realising that she was right behind him.

"Oh, hi Britt." Alvin said smiling uneasily. "I didn't see you there."

"What was that about being near the top of your 'list'?" Brittany interrogated with an air of annoyance.

"Don't worry about it." Alvin reassured.

Brittany didn't look too pleased by Alvin's disregarding reply and certainly wasn't reassured. The two of them had only just restored their relationship and he was already lining up a list of possible girlfriends.

"I did say that the top of the list was reserved for someone special, and that someone is you." Alvin explained offering an arm to Brittany.

"I hope so; because you're at the top of mine." Brittany replied taking his arm.

The two of them walked away from the group of girls and headed towards the lockers; with Brittany holding her head up high, rubbing in the fact that she was with Alvin. As soon as they reached the end of the hallway to head left to their lockers, Theodore came dashing from the right; sliding across the floor in a frantic attempt to stop. He quickly scrambled to his feet, panting heavily after having sprinted around school to find them.

"Guys...The jocks...Outside...Attacking...Chess table." Theodore said between his heavy panting.

"Excuse me for a moment." Alvin said taking his arm away from Brittany; he had an angry expression on his face.

He darted off down the corridor towards the door that led to the school yard, fuelled by his anger and desire for revenge.

"Alvin, wait!" Brittany shouted desperately.

She knew that if Alvin squared up to the jocks he would be severely outnumbered and it would all end in disaster. She sprinted after him; not wanting anything bad to happen to him. Theodore followed the two of them at a much slower pace; on his last legs after already running around the entire school.

"Don't worry, I'll catch up." Theodore said taking a few bounds down the hall and falling down exhausted.

Emily, who worked on the 'Toys for Tots' project with Theodore and Eleanor, noticed that he was lying on the floor and came over to see what was wrong.

"Theodore? Are you okay?" She asked concerning about him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, still lying face down on the floor and not looking fine at all.

"Can I help?" Emily asked being caring.

"I need to get to the chess table to help; the bullies are there." Theodore explained still slightly out of breath.

"I'll take you." Emily volunteered, bending down and offering a hand. "Jump on."

Theodore climbed onto her hand and they headed for the chess board, and the jocks.

Alvin arrived at the chess table to find Jeanette and Eleanor stood together looking upset, but no sign of the jocks; they had managed to evade him again. Brittany arrived soon after and went to comfort her sisters. Alvin noticed that Simon was slowly crawling out of a bush, with a twig stuck in his hood, and went over to lend a hand.

"I take back what I said earlier; it's you who they are scared of." Simon said getting to his feet.

"What can I say; we work better as a team." Alvin replied as he pulled the twig out of Simon's hood and threw it back into the bush.

The two of them joined the chipettes to make sure that they were okay and that the jocks hadn't done anything serious.

"Are you okay?" Simon asked brushing himself off.

"What happened?" Alvin asked.

"Yeah, we're okay now." Eleanor reassured. "Just a little shaken up, that's all."

"The jocks threatened them to lose the next round." Brittany explained.

"Lose? Not a chance." Simon replied.

"Yeah." Alvin agreed.

"And Ryan hit Simon into that bush." Jeanette added.

"You're not hurt are you?" Eleanor asked.

"Just a few scratches," Simon reassured. "Nothing that a victory against those jocks won't cure."

"And this time it's personal." Alvin added.

Eleanor looked around and started to worry; she couldn't see Theodore anywhere.

"Where's Theo?" Eleanor asked worryingly.

"Don't worry, he's okay." Brittany replied.

"He came and warned us about the jocks." Alvin explained.

At that moment, Emily walked up to the table and lowered Theodore down to table height for him to hop off.

"Thanks Emily." Theodore said appreciatively.

"Don't mention it." She replied happily before turning and walking back where she came from.

"Bye." Theodore said.

"Bye." She replied, waving a hand and smiling cheekily.

"Are you all okay?" Theodore asked.

"We're fine now." Simon replied.

"I'm sorry for leaving you but I had to go get help." Theodore explained.

"Don't worry Theo; it was the right thing to do." Eleanor reassured.

"I think we should continue this discussion after school." Simon suggested.

"You're right; we'll be late for class if we don't." Brittany agreed realising the time.

They all went to their lockers and then to their classes, making it there right on time.

Alvin and Brittany had math class last thing before the end of school and were dreading it, as neither of them were particularly strong with numbers. As usual Alvin was watching the clock and the teacher was becoming annoyed and distracted by him. There was just one minute left on the clock until the end of school and Alvin was raring to get out of the classroom. The teacher rapped up his lesson and let the students begin to pack away their belongings. Alvin walked to the edge of his desk and was about to jump down, but was halted by the teacher.

"Wait a minute, Mr Seville." He said with a sly, vengeful look on his face. "You need to collect a copy of the homework."

Alvin scowled at him and the teacher looked back with a grin across his face. The whole class groaned at the prospect of having to do homework; especially Alvin. He looked across at Brittany with a frown on his face; she just shrugged in return knowing that he was going to say that she 'jinxed it'.

The two of them got a copy of the homework each and headed to the lockers to meet up with the others.

"I told you that you'd jinx it." Alvin reminded.

"It was just coincidence." Brittany replied. "And the fact that the teacher doesn't like you wouldn't have helped."

"Well I don't like him either." Alvin said.

"Somehow I could already tell that you didn't." Brittany replied laughing to herself.

They arrived at the lockers at the same time as the others; ready to pack away their things and get out of school.

"I can't believe it, we got homework." Alvin said to the others as he slammed his locker shut.

"It was bound to happen sometime, after all this is school." Simon replied.

"It won't be as bad as you think." Brittany said to Alvin.

"Have you looked at this stuff?" Alvin replied. "There are 'x' and 'y' everywhere."

"Sounds like algebra." Jeanette said.

"Oh no, I hate algebra." Brittany said unhappily

"That makes two of us." Alvin added.

"Me three." Dave said as he arrived at the lockers.

"Hi Dave." Theodore greeted.

"You hate algebra too?" Eleanor asked.

"Yeah, I could do it but I didn't enjoy it." Dave explained. "So, how did you get on today? Do any training?"

"We tried, but the 'jocks' soon put a stop to it." Simon replied.

"They're always bullying us." Theodore added.

"And now _we_ know what it feels like." Jeanette continued.

"Yeah." Eleanor agreed.

"It sounds like you've had a bit of a run-in." Dave said concerned. "We should get going; you can tell me about it on the way home."

The six of them all talked to Dave about the jocks and the chess practise on the way home. Once they arrived back at the house, Simon and Jeanette immediately made their way to the chess board; determined to beat the jocks as humiliatingly as possible. Theodore and Eleanor followed suit and joined them on the table at the chess board. Simon and Jeanette began looking at techniques that they could use in order to beat the jocks in the shortest space of time that they could. Eleanor was reading through the book of chess techniques with them, while Theodore attempted to set up the chess pieces on the chess board once again.

Alvin and Brittany, seeing that everyone was preoccupied, decided to try and get the homework out of the way. Brittany was the one who ultimately decided and Alvin was just dragged along for the ride. The two of them entered the bedroom, jumped up onto Brittany's bed and began looking over the homework; Alvin with very little interest in it.

"Okay, algebra, hopefully it looks harder than it actually is." Brittany said being hopeful herself.

"I don't know where to start." Alvin said looking confused, turning his paper upside down and then back again.

"How about question one?" Brittany replied in a tone of obviousness. "If 2+x=5, what is x?"

"A letter?" Alvin replied.

Brittany burst out laughing; she didn't know whether Alvin was joking or being serious, but either way that wasn't the correct answer.

"Well, I guess that's true." Brittany said. "But I think the answer is 3."

Alvin scratched his head and looked down at the paper, which was covered in letters, numbers and symbols. He squinted at the paper again before finally figuring out that x was representing a number.

"2+3=5" Alvin read out from his homework sheet, replacing the x with a 3.

"Well done." Brittany said patronisingly before giggling to herself.

Alvin was not amused; he wasn't very good at math and especially not algebra, he didn't need Brittany to rub it in. He frowned at her and raised an eyebrow in an attempt to subdue her laughter. Brittany soon stopped after seeing the expression on his face, and decided to continue with the next question. It was pretty straight forward, on a par with the first one, but as soon as they got to question three they were stumped.

"There's no way we can do this." Brittany said.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Alvin replied.

"We need some help." Brittany said.

"Or we could just forget about the homework." Alvin suggested.

"That won't solve anything." Brittany answered. "Come on."

Brittany took the homework and left the bedroom in search of some assistance; Alvin trailed behind uninterested in the whole homework thing. Brittany decided to see if Simon or Jeanette could help, after all they were the smartest people she knew.

"Hey guys, do you think you could help us with this math?" Brittany asked.

"We're a little busy." Simon said.

"Maybe later, okay?" Jeanette added.

Clearly the two of them were busy and Eleanor was the focus of all their attention, so that left Theodore; it was a long shot but it was worth a try. Alvin and Brittany walked over to ask Theodore about the algebra, he had just finished setting up the chess board and was currently unoccupied.

"Hey Theo, know anything about algebra?" Alvin asked.

"We really need help with this homework." Brittany added.

"I'm not sure, but I can try." Theodore replied.

The three of them sat down and looked at the third question on the sheet. It had an x and a y in it; this was the reason for their struggling. Theodore eyed up the problem for a minute before attempting to solve it.

"I think you need to solve the second part first." Theodore said.

"How?" Alvin asked impatiently.

"Work out x, and then use it to work out y." Theodore explained.

"That's no help, what's the answer?" Alvin asked becoming frustrated.

"I get it now, thanks Theo." Brittany said grabbing Alvin and dragging him away; annoyed at how he had received Theo's help.

The two of them continued to do the homework; managing to make it to the halfway point before getting stuck on question six. Luckily, to break the monotony, Dave called them all for dinner. This gave Alvin and Brittany a chance to clear their heads and stop thinking about algebra for the time being.

They all sat eating their dinners happily; having worked up an appetite from all the events they had been through at school.

"So how's the practise going?" Dave asked. "Do you think you can beat those jocks?"

"It should be a piece of cake," Simon replied.

"Cake? Is there any dessert?" Theodore asked.

"Make sure you finish your dinner first." Dave replied before continuing the conversation. "How's Eleanor getting on?"

"She's getting really good." Jeanette replied.

"I think I'm getting the hang of it." Eleanor added modestly.

"Well, I'm glad that you're all getting on well with your practise." Dave replied. "Hopefully we'll bring the contest back to one round a piece."

"No doubt." Simon commented confidently.

The six of them finished their meals and left Dave to clear the table as usual, all except Alvin and Brittany, who waited behind. Dave took some of the plates and cups through to the kitchen, and then returned to find that the two of them were still there.

"What's up?" Dave asked curiously.

"We need help with our homework." Brittany replied.

"Just let me finish clearing the table and I'll help you with it, okay?" Dave said as he continued to pick up the used plates.

Sure enough, Dave cleared the table and then sat down with them to assist with the homework.

"I see," Dave said looking at the piece of paper. "That's why you were talking about algebra."

"We did some of it." Alvin said.

"But we're stuck on question six." Brittany explained.

"Let's take a look." Dave said taking the homework sheet and studying it carefully.

"Well, have any ideas?" Alvin asked.

"I think I remember how to do this." Dave replied. "It's been a long time since I last did any algebra."

"I bet it has." Alvin commented.

Dave frowned at him, not amused by his comment referring to his age.

"So, can you help us?" Brittany asked politely, covering up Alvin's rude comment.

"Yeah, it's pretty simple really, you just need to practise that's all." Dave replied. "It's a simultaneous equation."

"A what?" Alvin said.

"It means two equations used at the same time." Brittany explained.

"Well, something like that. You have to put both equations equal to zero and then you work it out." Dave explained.

"So what's the answer?" Alvin asked.

"I said I would help you with the homework, not do it for you." Dave replied.

"That's okay, I understand now." Brittany said. "Thanks Dave."

"But we didn't get the answer." Alvin protested as Brittany dragged him away.

The two of them returned to their post in the bedroom, where they continued to tackle the homework; following up on the help that Dave had provided. On their way they had passed the others who were still hard at work, preparing g for the chess match ahead.

Simon and Jeanette were now using the chess strategies to work out which would be best, and to test Eleanor to see if she could play against them competently. Theodore watched on curiously as they attempted to using the Sicilian defence opening to test how suitable it was for the upcoming chess round. Eleanor seemed to be coping with the strategy and was holding her own in the current practise match.

Simon and Jeanette continued to test more strategies and tactics in the following matches; using discovered attacks and pin moves. The matches were taking quite a while as Eleanor wasn't rushing into making any silly mistakes on her moves. By the time they had finished the third practise match it was fast approaching 9 o'clock and Dave came to tell them to wrap it up and head for bed.

While all this training was going on, Alvin and Brittany were still hard at work on the homework; well Brittany was. They had progressed through it well, considering the amount of distractions Alvin was making in an attempt to sidetrack Brittany.

"We need to concentrate on this math, Alvin, quit goofing around." Brittany said becoming annoyed by his antics.

"Forget about the math homework, its lame." Alvin replied.

"You still need to do it." Brittany reminded.

"The only math I'm interested in is one plus one equals two." Alvin answered putting his arm around Brittany and pulling her close towards him.

"Maybe later," Brittany said giggling, "But right now we need to focus on homework; so get studying."

"The only thing I want to study is you." Alvin replied.

"That's so cheesy, how many of those one-liners do you have?" Brittany said jokingly.

"Plenty." Alvin boasted.

"Alright Casanova; work now, play later." Brittany said becoming more serious.

"Who's playing?" Alvin teased.

Brittany burst out laughing; Alvin was on form with his snappy replies and wasn't going to let it rest. She dived on him to try and shut him up.

"Please stop. It's starting to get annoying." Brittany said laughing out loud.

"Not as annoying as that homework." Alvin pointed out.

"But we have to do it." Brittany reiterated.

" 'Do it'?" Alvin questioned flirtatiously.

Brittany blushed at hearing what Alvin had said and also that she inadvertently said it as well. She put her hand over his mouth in a desperate attempt to shut him up.

"I meant no such thing." Brittany replied pleading innocence.

"I certainly hope not." Dave interrupted.

Alvin and Brittany quickly got up and peered over the edge of the bed to see Dave and the others stood at the entrance to the bedroom.

"But you did say it." Alvin said.

"Not in that context." Brittany protested.

"Well it better not have been." Dave warned as they all entered the bedroom.

"Alvin was just twisting what I said." Brittany said pleading her innocence.

"I can believe that." Simon replied. "It's something that Alvin is an expert at."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alvin asked sounding annoyed.

"That's enough guys, as long as it was all a misunderstanding then its okay." Dave said. "Now get ready for bed; you have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow."

They all got ready for bed in the usual routine; and before long the six of them were tucked up in their beds. Dave bid them goodnight and they all drifted off to sleep with thoughts of the next round of the competition and the next press conference, floating through their minds.

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**Thanks for reading, please review. :)**


	22. Mind Games

**Thanks for all the reviews for the previous chapters. I kinda got waylaid during this chapter but am well into the next. What will the press conference have in store for the chipmunks and chipettes?**

* * *

Today is the day of the press conference for the chess round, and the six chipmunks awoke with the prospect of facing the jocks after school in the Q&A session. They all got out of bed on time; apart from Alvin and Brittany, who were trying to ignore school in hope that it would go away. No such luck, as Dave entered the bedroom minutes later nagging them to get up. The whole going to school thing was bad enough for the two of them, but to add to it they had algebra homework that was not finished and was due in tomorrow.

After some persuading, the two of them emerged from their bunk beds and proceeded to prepare for school; just as the others had headed through to the dining table for breakfast.

"Sleep well?" Brittany asked.

"No, it was a nightmare; we did so much algebra, I had letters and numbers haunting me in my sleep." Alvin said.

"You're exaggerating," Brittany replied giggling.

"You weren't there; it was horrible." Alvin continued.

"I'm sure it was." Brittany added.

"I never want to see algebra again." Alvin said.

"You'll have to because we didn't finish the homework." Brittany pointed out.

"I can't wait." Alvin said sarcastically.

The two of them reached the bathroom and Brittany jumped in front of Alvin in the queue and went in first. She stopped in the doorway and turned back to face Alvin, who was stood close behind her.

"Speaking of homework, what was all that cheesy and slightly over the top talk last night?" Brittany questioned.

"I was bored, what can I say?" Alvin replied.

"Fine, but next time don't start trying to get me into trouble. Dave wasn't too happy." Brittany added.

"You're over reacting." Alvin said.

Brittany ignored him; she was not over reacting, she was acting perfectly reasonable, it was just Alvin's way of deflecting criticism. Alvin watched her go into the bathroom and close the door behind her, before sighing out loud and leaning against the wall. He may have overstepped his mark last night, but it was all in good nature; there's just no pleasing some people. First she wants more attention and then when she gets it, it turns out to be the wrong kind of attention. Sometimes he wishes that she would just lighten up and have some fun like he does.

Brittany re-emerged from the bathroom looking fresher, and not as annoyed as when she went in; hopefully her mood will improve as the day goes on.

Alvin and Brittany joined the others for breakfast just as they were finishing; Dave too was just about done, showing that they were cutting it fine for being at school on time.

"Don't take too long with your breakfast," Dave warned. "We don't want to be late."

"You don't." Alvin corrected.

"I'll ignore that." Dave said as he got up from the table and took his plate with him.

"If only you'd put more effort into your homework than your snappy replies." Brittany said.

"If it'll make you feel any better; I'll try harder at the rest of the homework." Alvin replied, desperate to keep Brittany from getting annoyed with him.

"Good." Brittany said happily, continuing with her breakfast.

The six of them finished breakfast and prepared for school, before being accompanied by Dave to school and then to their lockers.

"Same plan of attack as yesterday?" Simon queried.

"Sure." Eleanor agreed.

"And this time we'll get to practise." Jeanette added.

"As long as those jocks stay away." Theodore said.

"They better do; if they know what's good for them." Alvin commented after overhearing the jocks being mentioned in the conversation.

"We could do with some protection at lunchtime." Eleanor suggested.

"Yeah, Alvin?" Jeanette asked.

"Well..." Alvin began before being interrupted by Brittany.

"Sorry girls, Alvin's going to be preoccupied doing the math homework we've got." She informed them.

"Oh, okay." Eleanor replied slightly disappointed.

"Don't worry; I'll still get you some protection." Alvin reassured.

"Looks like he's got a plan." Simon said.

"As long as it involves doing algebra at lunch." Brittany reminded strictly.

"I hate algebra." Alvin stated slamming his locker shut and heading to class.

The six of them went separate ways to their first classes and began the long, gruelling day of school. The only consolation for Alvin was that he didn't have math class today.

Later on in the day, the six of them met up at a lunch table in the cafeteria; although the six did not include Alvin, who was late for lunch.

"Anyone know where Alvin is?" Dave asked. "Brittany?"

"I haven't seen him; we were in different classes." Brittany replied.

Right on cue, Alvin arrived at the table as if being summoned; considerably later than usual. The others knew that he had been up to something, as he was always at lunch on time and most of the time he was the first one there.

"Where have you been?" Dave asked curiously.

"Running an errand." Alvin replied vaguely.

"Does it have something to do with your 'plan'?" Simon questioned.

"Yeah, I sorted out your protection." Alvin explained. "So Brittany can enjoy my company for the homework."

"Enjoy? Don't you mean endure?" Brittany replied jokingly.

"What?" Alvin said confused.

"Don't worry, I'm just kidding," Brittany reassured. "I like your company."

"Good," Alvin replied. "Because you're stuck with me."

Once the six of them had finished their lunch, Dave left them so he could get a head start on his work, and as they had done the previous day; Alvin and Brittany left the others to go and practise chess while they did their homework.

Simon, Theodore, Jeanette and Eleanor made their ways to the chess table outside; where the jocks had previously attacked them. The four of them were relieved to find that the jocks were nowhere to be seen and that the chess table was vacant. It was much tidier than the last time they used it, which meant less time cleaning and more time practising. The four of them happily went about their business, while Alvin and Brittany had made their way to the library to do their homework. It was fairly empty and obviously quiet as the two of them sat on a table mulling over the algebra question continuously.

"This is hopeless." Alvin whispered.

"Keep trying." Brittany encouraged. "We've almost finished it."

Alvin slumped down knowing that Brittany wasn't going to be happy until they had completely finished the homework. The two of them continued to try and figure out the answer, with lots of head scratching on Alvin's part as he tried as hard as he could to work out the answer. Finally, after a brain wave, Alvin realised how to calculate the answer.

"I've got it!" Alvin said before looking around; he forgot he was in the library.

"Really?" Brittany asked unbelieving of him.

"Yeah, I don't know how but the answer just jumped out at me." Alvin answered.

"I hope you're right." Brittany said. "Because it's the last question."

"x=6, and y=11." Alvin announced.

Brittany looked at him for a second, not sure of how he had worked it out and if he was just joking about it or being genuine, before putting the answers into the equations to check if they were correct. Alvin stood proudly looking down on the homework; another obstacle overcome by his sheer awesomeness.

"Well, it looks right," Brittany said happily.

"Of course it is." Alvin replied confidently.

"All the hard work paid off." Brittany added.

"That's enough homework for me for a lifetime." Alvin commented.

Brittany finished writing down the answer to the final question before the two of them decided to go check up on the others and their chess training.

Back at the chess table the practise was going great, Eleanor was developing her own time consuming way of playing, it was slow but effective. Simon and Jeanette were impressed by the resilience of her playing style, throwing lots of different strategies into the mix to attempt to catch her out, but to no avail. Theodore was watching with fascination as Eleanor adapted to the challenges; he was impressed at how competent she was at the game, having risen from being a complete novice just a couple of days ago.

At this rate there would be no way that they could possibly lose to the jocks; if either Simon or Jeanette failed in their matches then Eleanor would be there to back up the team. But as soon as they seem to get somewhere, the jocks always turn up and spoil everything. Sure enough, just minutes later, the jocks approached the table to confront the chipmunks; a feeling of déjà vu set in as the four of them knew that they had to deal with the jocks once again.

"So, we meet again." Ryan said as he stood towering over them. "You sure are spending a lot of time on the chess board."

"Yeah, well we're preparing for tomorrows matches," Simon answered back. "Which is a lot more than you seem to be doing."

"That's a good point; we need to practise, but you have the chess board." Ryan replied. "I think it's about time you moved over and let us have out turn."

"But, there are plenty of other chess tables." Jeanette suggested.

"Butt out, glasses." Ryan answered back insultingly before continuing his intimidation.

"Get lost Ryan. I know what you're trying to do and I'm not scared," Simon said angrily; defending Jeanette and the others.

"Oh, really?" Ryan questioned.

He reached towards Simon, but as he moved in for the attack he was halted by a familiar voice; a loud and commanding one.

"If you lay a finger on him you'll be straight in Detention, Mr Edwards." Dr Rubin shouted as she marched over to the confrontation.

Ryan immediately backed off; he knew that he would be in serious trouble if he didn't.

"I don't expect any more of this behaviour from you before the next round." Dr Rubin announced. "Otherwise, I will be forced to disqualify your team."

"But I..." Ryan began protesting before being overruled.

"No buts, I just saw the whole incident and you were out of line. Now I expect you to be on your best behaviour or I'll be seeing you in my office." Dr Rubin warned.

"Fine." Ryan replied, annoyed at how belittled the exchange of words had made him look.

The jocks all turned away and walked back from where they came.

"I told you it was a bad idea." Xander said.

Ryan immediately punched him in the arm; not wanting any further grief, and especially not in front of the chipmunks or chipettes.

"I hope you are all alright." Dr Rubin said.

"We're fine." Simon replied.

"Thanks to you." Theodore added.

"Oh, it was nothing," Dr Rubin replied modestly. "I was just happy to help."

"You were a great help." Eleanor praised.

"It was Alvin's idea for me to keep an eye on you; he deserves some of the kudos." Dr Rubin explained. "Well, I must be going; I have a meeting in five minutes."

Dr Rubin left the four of them briskly; her work having been done and her busy schedule ahead of her. They all felt relieved that Dr Rubin was watching their backs; without her the competition as a whole would have been a nightmare. As soon as she had disappeared out of sight, they continued their chess match and were joined by Alvin and Brittany shortly after.

"How's it going?" Alvin asked as they jumped up onto the table.

"Have any trouble with the jocks?" Brittany asked.

"We had a bit of a close call." Simon explained.

"But Dr Rubin came to the rescue." Eleanor added.

"Thanks to you, Alvin." Jeanette said.

"Alvin?" Brittany asked confused.

"He asked Dr Rubin to watch over us." Theodore replied.

"And it was a good idea." Simon praised.

Alvin held his head up high at hearing this; praise coming from his brother was like gold dust. Brittany was proud of Alvin's actions and that combined with his good work on the algebra had really impressed her.

"Well done Alvin." Brittany praised, beaming with delight.

The bell rang signalling the end of lunchtime, breaking up their sentimental moment and bringing them back down to reality; the rest of the school day awaited. The six of them all made their ways to class, with the pre match press conference on their minds. The chipmunk team could be quietly confident, after their training had been such a success they had nothing to worry about. The jocks were as good as beaten, and they could show that in the after school press conference.

As usual, once the school day had concluded, the six chipmunks met up at their lockers to return their belongings and regroup.

"Ready to make the jocks look stupid?" Alvin asked.

"You bet." Simon replied. "It's not even going to be hard."

"Don't forget this press conference is about the competition." Dave reminded as he arrived at the lockers and joined them.

"And to be fair, Ryan isn't in the press conference, it's just going to be Jeremy and two others." Jeanette added.

"Jen's right." Eleanor agreed. "Your grudge is against Ryan."

"Wise words." Dave said.

"Jeremy won't be mean to us." Brittany said; remembering the time she spent with him when she and Alvin had broken up.

"Fine, we won't be mean to them unless they're mean to us." Simon replied giving in to the humility being displayed by the chipettes.

They made their way to the music room there the press conference was to take place shortly. Dave gave them a final pep talk and some last minute advice before sending them on their way. Alvin, Brittany and Theodore stayed with Dave, as they weren't participating in the next round of the competition. While Simon, Jeanette and Eleanor all went to join Dr Rubin in preparation for the start of the press conference.

As the previous press conference had been conducted; the press were all lined up on the rows of chairs at the front end of the room facing the stage. The chipmunk team and the jock team were directed to their specific positions on the panel, and the press conference began.

"Welcome all, to the press conference for the second round of the competition between the chipmunks and the school students." Dr Rubin introduced. "So without further ado, I shall open the floor for any questions to be asked."

As soon as Dr Rubin sat down several reporters and media personnel stood up; desperate to ask their question.

"Going into the second round 1-0 down must have changed your tactics and approach. How confident are you that the team can perform?" A reporter asked.

Simon immediately answered the question; wanting to make the team and himself look in control.

"We are certainly confident of winning the chess round; it's a mentally based activity, which will give us the advantage." Simon replied.

"It sounds like you believe that your team has better mental capabilities than the opposing team?" The reporter questioned.

"I've made it clear enough haven't I?" Simon answered.

This response put an end to the first reporter's questioning, allowing another to take a turn.

"What do you make of the opposition's comments?" The next reporter asked the jocks.

Jeremy opted to answer the question; wanting to avoid the team looking dumb.

"They certainly are confident," Jeremy replied. "And they have reason to be; Simon and Jeanette would be a match for anyone."

"Do you think your team has a chance of beating them?" The reporter continued.

"Well, I know that I am fairly competent at chess, and I'm sure that my fellow teammates will put up a fight against the chipmunks as well." Jeremy answered, in an attempt to shield the obvious flaw in the jock team.

"From the previous comments it is clear that you hold some respect for your opponents." A third reporter interrogated.

"Well, it would be foolish to ignore the fact that they have great knowledge of the game. I simply don't think that underestimating the opponent would benefit our team in any way." Jeremy explained truthfully.

This show of respect was receiving mixed reactions from the room. Ryan, who was sat to the side of the room, was clenching his fists and had an angry look on his face. He was trying to get Jeremy to stop but could not get his attention. Alvin on the other hand, was wary of the ploy of respect that the jocks were showing; they always have a trick up their sleeve. Alvin also had his eye on Brittany, who was clearly impressed by Jeremy's sincerity and was gaining a lot of respect for him. As for Theodore and Dave, they were watching contently waiting for one of the teams to make the next statement.

"Given that the match-ups for the chess round will be made at random, who would you like to play against?" A news presenter asked the six of them; the television camera fixed on them.

"Jeremy." Simon replied.

"Same here." Jeanette added.

"Well, I'm not that good, so I wouldn't want to play against Jeremy." Eleanor explained.

"I wouldn't mind playing against Simon or Jeanette." Jeremy said.

"Eleanor." Kevin, one of the jock team, answered.

"Eleanor." John, another member of the jock team, also answered.

After the answers had been heard, yet another reporter stood up and gave the jocks a statement to think about. The jocks were certainly taking the bulk of the questions; looking seemingly like they had more to answer for, going into the next round.

"You have been assigned the team name of 'The Jocks' by the public. Given the team's clear focus of physical attributes rather than mental ones, do you think this is justified?" The reporter asked Jeremy.

"I would say that is mostly correct, although I don't think I quite fall into that category, personally." Jeremy replied laughing.

Most of the room laughed at this comment, including the chipmunks. Ryan certainly didn't laugh, as the joke was at his and the rest of his team's expense. He just sat silently suppressing his anger, not wanting to give away any hints to the press that he was frustrated and annoyed.

"So, come tomorrow you and the 'jocks' will be ready for the chess round?" the reporter concluded.

"We'll give it our best shot, and hopefully come away with the win." Jeremy replied positively.

And with that the press conference subsided; overall a constructive discussion with a share of respect and determination, all-in-all giving a positive run-up to tomorrows chess round.

"That concludes the press-conference, no further questions." Dr Rubin announced. "The next round, as you know, will be tomorrow at 3pm and will take place in the gymnasium. I hope to see you all there."

The media gathering slowly dispersed after the concluding statement, and the panel were allowed to leave the stage. The jock team quickly departed from the gymnasium, leaving just Dave and the chipmunk team by themselves.

"Good job guys." Dave praised. "Now let's go home; we need to prepare for tomorrow, right?"

The six of them followed Dave out of the school and to the car; all feeling slightly relieved that the pre match talk was over, but the teal challenge was yet to come.

"The media sure caught on to the jocks' lack of intelligence." Brittany said as they exited through the school doors.

"And they're now officially known as 'The Jocks'." Alvin added.

"I'm glad that everything went okay, but don't you think that we were a little harsh on them?" Eleanor questioned.

"Nah, they deserve it." Alvin commented.

"I don't usually agree, but Alvin's right; for all they've done to us it's time for payback." Simon added.

"Jeremy wasn't mean to anyone," Jeanette said. "He showed us respect."

"Jen's right, he didn't really deserve the criticism." Brittany agreed.

"But the rest of the team did." Alvin replied.

"And besides, it was all a facade; he's playing mind games with us. So I played some of my own, just to unnerve him a little." Simon explained.

"As long as we win, it doesn't matter what happened." Theodore said.

"Yeah, let's concentrate on the chess matches." Eleanor agreed.

The six of them hopped into the back seat of the car and Dave drove them back home. On the way, Dave gave them some more of his divine wisdom; warning them not to over train for the event and to give themselves time to relax ahead of the next round.

So once they all arrived home, Simon, Jeanette and Eleanor decided to follow Dave's advice and hold off on the training for the time being. Instead, they joined Alvin, Brittany and Theodore in the living room to watch some television in an attempt to relax ahead of the chess matches. They didn't want the pressure to get to them, over preparing for the next round could backfire on them, so resting was a good idea.

Dave went straight into the kitchen on arriving home, and began preparing dinner. He was already beginning to feel hungry himself and thought it a good idea to start cooking up a meal right away; no doubt the chipmunks would be as hungry as he was. Using his culinary skills, Dave managed to whip up dinner in no time at all, and before they knew it the meal was ready to serve up. Once again Dave was thinking healthy and doing the best he could to serve up the right kind of food to help them in the competition.

The chipmunks and chipettes rushed to the table for dinner, to find some nicely presented fish with vegetables. Although very appetising, Alvin immediately took a dislike to the meal as it featured vegetables.

"Vegetables? Yuck." Alvin commented.

"It's good for you," Dave argued. "And besides, it'll help you become big and strong."

"I don't need it then." Alvin protested.

"You could have fooled me." Brittany commented.

Alvin frowned at her; once again she was attempting to undermine him from getting his own way. He was fighting a losing battle, Dave and Brittany won't let him have his own way, not if they can help it.

"Now tuck in, it's preparation for tomorrow." Dave said.

"But I'm not even competing." Alvin protested.

"We're a team Alvin; we're all in this together." Brittany replied with a smug look on her face.

"What's so special about fish anyway?" Alvin questioned.

"All the vitamins and nutrients," Dave replied.

"Like Omega 3." Simon informed them.

"What'll that do?" Alvin replied becoming mardy.

"It's good for the brain." Jeanette explained.

"So you definitely need to eat it." Brittany commented with a smirk on her face.

Alvin gave in after this; he knew it would be easier to just eat the meal than continue the argument.

After eating the meal; Dave cleared the table and left the chipmunks and chipettes to go and relax. They spent the majority of the evening in the living room watching television; allowing Dave to progress with some of his work and have some peace and quiet.

Whilst the six of them were watching television, they came across a re-run of their press conference from earlier on in the day. It had just started and so they watched the entire session of coverage to see how they had come across in front of the public.

"You seemed really confident." Brittany commented as the footage ended. "Good job."

"We have good reason to." Simon replied.

"We just have to deal with Jeremy." Jeanette reminded.

"You can do it." Theodore encouraged.

"Yeah, it'll be easy." Alvin agreed.

"As long as I don't have to play Jeremy." Eleanor pointed out.

"Even if you do, I'm sure you'll do great." Brittany praised.

"Plus, Jeanette and I will win our matches; so the pressure's off." Simon explained.

"I guess you're right." Eleanor replied feeling reassured. "I need to calm down; it's just a game."

"Okay guys, time for bed." Dave interrupted as he entered from his music room.

"What? Already?" Alvin questioned.

"You all have a big day tomorrow; an early night will make a world of difference." Dave answered.

"It's a good idea; it'll probably take us twice as long to get to sleep." Simon agreed.

With that the six of them made their ways to bed, and within half an hour they were all tucked up in bed ready to try and sleep. Dave left them in the usual manner; leaving the door ajar after saying good night. Going to sleep was made difficult by the array of emotions and feelings that they were contesting; the excitement of the next round of the competition as well as the nervousness of performing on the day. All these thoughts and more circled through their heads as they slowly but surely drifted off to sleep.

The competition was once again the main focus and the second round that they had been waiting for had finally arrived; the time to get one over on the jocks was almost at hand. Onward to the chess round and the chance to prove themselves.

* * *

**Finally, the chipmunk team's chance to beat the jocks has arrived, let's hope that all goes well.**

**Thanks for reading and please review. :)**


	23. Checkmate

Here is it, the next chapter of the story, sorry for the wait.

* * *

At last the day had arrived, the day of the second round of the competition; the chance to show the jocks that they really mean business. This was the thought running through the minds of the six chipmunks as they awoke from their slumber, raring to go and take on the day.

The day was so important that even Alvin and Brittany were up and out of bed early; not wanting to be caught out by anything or anyone by lying around in bed. The two of them were still not as quick as the others, but were soon back in the bedroom after using the bathroom. The others had already made haste and gone to the breakfast table to join Dave for breakfast. Seeing that the two of them were lagging behind, Alvin decided to discuss the day ahead with Brittany whilst the others were not around.

"Now that we're alone..." Alvin began.

"Don't start that again," Brittany interrupted, "Dave was annoyed with us last night; I don't want to get on his bad side again already."

"What? No, that's not what I meant." Alvin attempted to explain.

"Well that makes a change." Brittany commented, becoming irritated by his recent behaviour.

"Seriously Britt, it's about the competition and the others." Alvin reasoned.

"What about them?" Brittany asked beginning to show an interest in what he had to say.

"Well, you know how important it is for us to win today; so I don't want things to go wrong." Alvin explained.

"Me neither." Brittany agreed.

"And by 'things going wrong' I mean the jocks." Alvin continued.

"I'm sure that they're going to be trying to bully the others into losing, and I don't want to let it happen."

"We could just get Dr Rubin to protect us again." Brittany suggested helpfully.

"It's a good idea, but it's not discreet." Alvin replied. "If the others know about the protection it could distract and unnerve them."

"I guess you've got a point." Brittany said barely managing to understand Alvin's logic.

"So I think we should look out for them ourselves; discreetly." Alvin proposed.

"It's worth a shot, but the jocks will be a handful." Brittany pointed out.

"Don't worry about that; I'll be more than a distraction to the jocks." Alvin assured her.

"I hope you know what you're doing." She replied.

"Trust me." Alvin said confidently.

"How many times have I heard that?" Brittany said to herself, before the two of them entered the dining area to join the others for breakfast.

Unbeknown to the others, Alvin had assigned himself and Brittany the role of bodyguards for the day and intended on taking care of the jocks personally. It was a risky strategy to employ, but he was the team captain and he needed to ensure that the team wins the next round.

The six of them and Dave, all finished breakfast and headed off to school as was their usual schedule.

Upon their arrival Alvin was immediately on the lookout, straying ahead in an attempt to stop any possible jock ambushes from taking place. Brittany was taking a more relaxed approach to the body guarding business by simply walking with the others and making sure that they were all feeling okay ahead of the chess matches. Unlike Brittany's perfectly normal behaviour, Alvin's method of keeping a lookout for the jocks was already drawing the attention of the others.

"Why is Alvin walking so far ahead?" Theodore asked.

"He's...excited...about today's big clash with the Jocks." Brittany replied.

"Well, rushing around isn't going to speed up time." Simon said.

"This is Alvin we're talking about," Brittany reminded, "He won't have thought about that for a second."

Simon looked across to Jeanette with some uncertainty; she shrugged in response, as it all sounded like Alvin being his usual self. They soon arrived at their lockers, with Alvin at least ten paces ahead of them, and began to gather their desired belongings in preparation for their first classes.

Alvin continued to be vigilant, not looking in his locker but instead looking around in anticipation of the Jocks. His lookout task was blatantly obvious as he wasn't getting on with anything else; Brittany could see this, as could the others, and as soon as they weren't looking she attempted to address the situation.

A swift but firm punch to the arm did the trick, stopping Alvin's completely indiscreet behaviour and ultimately getting his attention.

"Oww, what?" Alvin replied slightly surprised by Brittany's attack.

"You weren't 'looking out' for that," Brittany commented before continuing to elaborate. "I know you said we were supposed to keep a lookout for the jocks, but do you have to make it so obvious?"

"I'm just doing my job." Alvin protested. "So far so good."

"Yeah, well you're far from discreet." Brittany criticised. "Don't just stand there looking around."

"I'm looking out for the jocks; if I stop for just one second they could make a move." Alvin explained.

"We're both watching for them remember?" Brittany reminded. "Besides, the others are going to catch on; so act natural Mr double 'o' Seville."

By now the others had finished with their lockers and Alvin and Brittany's little conversation had caught their attention. Alvin had a frown on his face after Brittany's hilarious joke; he wasn't the slightest bit amused. Brittany seemed pleased with her rather clever play-on words and the two of them continued to rummage through their lockers; oblivious to the others watching them.

Seeing this usual scenario of Alvin and Brittany causing some sort of annoyance between one another; the suspicions of the others dissolved and normal order resumed.

"They're up to their usual bickering." Simon said before observing the time from a nearby wall clock.

"Looks like it." Jeanette agreed.

"We'd better head for class," Simon warned.

"Good idea," Theodore said having seen the time.

"We'll see you at break then." Eleanor said before heading away from the lockers.

Theodore tailed behind her, leaving Simon and Jeanette to head in the opposite direction to their own class. By now, Alvin and Brittany had finished their discussion and had obtained all their belongings from their lockers. Seeing that the others were leaving in opposite directions, the two of them were in two minds over what to do.

"Now What?" Brittany asked.

"Follow them." Alvin replied stating the obvious.

"In two different directions?" Brittany enquired.

"I'll follow Theo and Elle." Alvin volunteered before dashing away.

"We do have class, you know?" Brittany reminded.

Alvin had already dashed half the length of the hallway and was out of earshot. Brittany sighed at Alvin's hasty and rash decisions; keeping him in line was going to be as tough a job as dealing with the jocks. She began to walk in the direction that Simon and Jeanette had gone; wondering what Alvin could have planned for the rest of the day. What has she gotten herself into?

Later at the start of break, the bell rang signalling the end of the lesson; providing a short session of free time before the next one. Alvin immediately shot out of his class and rushed to find and intercept the jocks. As long as he knew where Ryan was he could keep the jocks and the others apart.

It wasn't long before he spotted Ryan; he was just meeting up with a couple of his jock friends. He didn't seem to be looking to cause any trouble, but Alvin's point of view soon changed when he noticed Ryan glancing down the hall in the opposite direction from him. Sure enough, upon further inspection, Alvin noticed that Theodore and Eleanor were walking away from them at the opposite end of the hallway.

Ryan _was_ up to no good, and it was Alvin's job to stop him. Not giving him too much time to consider the situation, Ryan began to make his move; departing in the general direction that Theodore and Eleanor had gone just moments ago. Thinking on his feet, and with a hint of desperation creeping in, Alvin decided to stop the jocks the only way he could think of; distracting them. He darted off down the hall and past Ryan, giving him a glance as he jogged past.

Ryan returned the glance as Alvin went by, making eye to eye contact with him. The lack of fear and respect shown by Alvin as he glanced at him was sure to touch a nerve.

Once Alvin had gotten a safe distance ahead of Ryan and his jocks, he slowed down his jog to a steady walking pace. He was now directly in front of Ryan's path and enticing them into focusing their attention on him.

Conveniently, Theodore and Eleanor had already left the hallway that they were currently in and were out of site. Ryan would have no other choice but to follow him instead. Alvin had seen the direction that the two of them had departed in and, at the end of the hallway, turned in the opposite direction and carried on walking.

Brittany was in a different class to Alvin previously, and so she had not seen him since the beginning of the morning. Leaving the classroom at the start of break, she decided to head in the general direction of their lockers in the hope that she would find the others on her travels. Brittany walked to an intersection of the hallways and looked around to see if she could spot anyone.

Sure enough, Simon and Jeanette were down the hall to her right at their lockers. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Theodore and Eleanor were to her left heading in her direction and towards their lockers. Brittany decided to wait for the two of them to catch up before she headed for the lockers.

As the two of them approached down the hallway, Brittany noticed that the two of them had been tailed. Seeing the jocks behind them at the end of the hallway made her freeze; any drastic movements may alert Ryan to their location. Brittany just watched as Theodore and Eleanor approached from the jocks' direction and suddenly noticed that they weren't following the two of them. Instead, the group were peering around; they hadn't spotted Theodore or Eleanor yet and must have lost sight of them in the congestion of the corridors.

Brittany felt relieved by this as she thought that she might have had to deal with the jocks herself. She continued to monitor the jocks to make sure that they didn't spot any of the three of them. Suddenly Brittany's relief was shattered as she spotted a small red hoody heading away from their location; as he was in the line of sight of the jocks. She continued to watch Alvin helplessly as he headed away from her; turning and looking back in their direction. He noticed Brittany and their eyes met for a second or two; Alvin winked before turning away and keeping his head down.

Soon after, the jocks headed in Alvin's direction with Ryan at the front of the gang, pursuing him after losing sight of Theodore and Eleanor. Brittany was full of worry as she saw Alvin and the jocks depart from view; she felt scared for his safety. But showing it now would just worry the others and all of their efforts to protect them would be in vein.

"Hi you two, feeling okay?" Brittany asked innocently.

"Yeah." Theodore replied happily.

"Well, I'm a little nervous." Eleanor answered. "But it's nothing to worry about."

"Have you been thinking about the contest?" Brittany enquired as the three of them began to walk to the lockers.

"Yeah, I think that's what's making me nervous." Eleanor admitted.

"Remember what Simon said; they'll win their matches." Theodore reminded.

"Yeah, so there's no pressure on you needing to win." Brittany agreed.

"I guess you're right, thanks." Eleanor replied.

"Maybe you'll be able to relax more if you keep that in mind," Brittany suggested as they arrived at the lockers, where Simon and Jeanette were waiting.

"Keep what in mind?" Jeanette enquired.

"Oh, just the fact that Elle may not need to win her round." Brittany replied.

"No doubt about that, we'll win our matches." Simon stated confidently.

"So the pressure is off." Jeanette reassured.

"Just do your best." Theodore encouraged.

"I'll try." Eleanor replied feeling better for the support she was receiving.

The five of them began chatting about the competition until Theodore realised that Alvin had not turned up. This was rather worrying as Alvin wasn't one to be slow to leave class and was sure to have been delayed by something. The others caught onto this and suspicions and concerns began to rise as to his whereabouts and wellbeing.

"Do you know where he is?" Jeanette asked Brittany.

"I wasn't in the same class as him, so I haven't seen him." Brittany replied.

"Maybe he got in trouble with those bullies again." Theodore suggested feeling concerned.

"Come to think of it, I did see him heading towards the bathroom." Brittany said attempting to reassure the others. "He's probably in there."

"I thought you hadn't seen him?" Simon interrogated.

"I meant in class." Brittany quickly responded.

Just at that moment the school bell rang, giving Brittany a lifeline and a chance to escape the conversation without dropping any hints as to Alvin's whereabouts. But in truth, she didn't know where he was anyway, only that Ryan and the jocks were in pursuit of him.

"See you at lunch, guys." Brittany said as she headed away from them at a brisk pace.

The others didn't read any further into this and they all departed for their own classes. Brittany had managed to keep their suspicions and concerns to a minimum, but had her own concerns to contend with. She had seen Alvin walk out of sight with the jocks following and did not know whether he had gotten to safety or not. It was a bad sign that he had not turned up at the lockers, and to make things worse he wasn't in her next class. The concerns and feelings were plaguing her inside as she would not know whether Alvin was okay until lunch time.

Brittany sat down at lunch and to add to her worries, Alvin wasn't there. None of the others had seen him and the five of them were beginning to get worried about him. After talking about it for a few minutes, they were joined by Dave and decided to tell him what was on their minds.

"So, ready to win the next round?" Dave asked positively.

"Sure," Simon replied. "Easy."

Dave looked at them all sat around the table and picked up on the worry that they were expressing.

"You all look a little worried," Dave said. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"It's not the competition that we're worried about." Eleanor replied.

Dave continued to look at the five of them, trying to figure out why they were looking so concerned. Then, finally, it dawned on him; there were only five of them.

"Where's Alvin?" Dave asked suspiciously.

"We don't know," Theodore answered.

"That's why we're worried." Brittany explained. "I saw the jocks following him earlier."

"What?" The others exclaimed in unison, the surprise and shock was shared by all.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Jeanette asked.

"I didn't want you all to worry." Brittany reasoned. "With the chess matches coming up, I wanted you to concentrate on them and not Alvin, but now he's disappeared and it's all my fault."

"You we're only trying to do what was best for all of us." Eleanor sympathised. "It's not your fault."

"Besides, we don't know where Alvin is or what he's doing. He could be fine." Dave commented.

"Dave's right." Simon agreed. "We need to find Alvin before we start jumping to conclusions."

The six of them continued to eat their lunches at a quicker pace; the sooner they finished the sooner they could go find Alvin. As they finished their lunches, Theodore noticed that the jocks were only just arriving.

"Oh no, the jocks are here." Theodore said informing the others.

"That spells trouble." Simon replied.

"In more ways than one." Brittany added. "Where have they come from?"

"I hope Alvin is okay." Eleanor said.

"We need to find Alvin." Theodore suggested desperately.

The six of them immediately cut their lunches short, even Theodore and Eleanor, and headed off to find Alvin. They didn't have the first clue of where to look, but they needed to try. They all split up and went in different directions; Simon and Jeanette, Theodore and Eleanor, Dave, and finally Brittany.

After searching for a while, Brittany noticed the time and saw that there was only ten minutes left until the end of lunchtime. Optimistically, she thought that maybe Alvin would have gone to the lockers to get his stuff for his next class. She made her way to the lockers at a speedy pace, wanting to find Alvin as quick as possible. Turning the corner into the hallway of lockers Brittany's heart sank; she was really hoping to find him at his locker, safe and sound, and ready for class.

Alvin wasn't anywhere to be seen but Brittany's hopes were half right. As soon as she arrived at her locker she heard a whisper.

"Britt, is that you?" the voice asked.

"Y-yes," She replied slightly surprised.

"Do you think you could let me out? I'm getting kinda hungry." The voice said.

Brittany followed where the voice was coming from and was led to a locker.

"Is that you Alvin?" Brittany asked as she stood in front of his locker.

"Yeah, do you know the combination for the lock?" Alvin replied.

"Of course; you told me it before." Brittany replied happily, opening the locker with haste.

Sure enough Alvin was stood the other side of the door as she opened it. He still had his usual look about him and didn't seem to be hurt at all. This was a big relief for Brittany; she was so worried about him after he put himself on the line to distract the jocks. She had feared the worst but thankfully it looked like the jocks hadn't gotten to him after all.

"I was so worried." Brittany said with a relieved look on her face.

She jumped and put her arms around him, embracing his safe return and the dissipation of all her worries. Alvin caught her with a hug and tried to reassure her as best he could.

"Relax, I'm fine. They didn't lay a finger on me." Alvin replied.

"What happened?" Brittany asked as they broke off their emotional embrace.

"I was being chased, so I decided to hide in the one place that they wouldn't be able to get me." Alvin explained.

"In your own locker?" Brittany questioned.

"Yeah, pretty clever huh?" Alvin replied.

"Apart from locking yourself in." Brittany commented, laughing to herself.

Alvin rolled his eyes, it was only a minor detail, but Brittany had stolen his thunder once again.

"But as long as you're safe it doesn't matter." Brittany stated.

"I may be safe, but I'm starving." Alvin replied.

The two of them headed back to the cafeteria, holding hands, glad to be reunited once again. They had enough time to get a snack and return to the lockers to meet up with the others and Dave.

On returning to the lockers, Alvin and Brittany spotted the others all waiting for them. They all looked relieved to see that Alvin was with her and was okay.

"Are you okay Alvin?" Theodore asked.

"I'm fine," Alvin replied. "And I'm sorry if you guys were worried about me."

"We're just glad you're okay." Eleanor assured.

"Where did you go to?" Simon enquired.

"Well…" Alvin began before trailing off.

"He was locked in his own locker." Brittany answered.

The others all had puzzled and slightly confused looks on their faces.

"Did the jocks do it?" Theodore asked.

"Well, no; the jocks were chasing me so I hid in my locker." Alvin explained. "Only…I couldn't get out after they had left."

"That's pretty dumb." Simon commented. "But at least the jocks didn't get you."

"Now that I'm back; you need to get the jocks back by beating them in the next round." Alvin encouraged.

"Yeah, let's do it!" Brittany concurred with him, psyching up the team.

Now that the team was reunited as one, they could focus on the chess matches and beating the jocks to level the competition.

Later on in the day, the time had finally arrived; it was 3pm sharp and the six of them were approaching the gymnasium.

"Ready to win?" Alvin encouraged.

"Absolutely." Simon replied confidently.

"Go in there and bring home the second round." Brittany said supportively.

"We'll do it." Jeanette said reassuringly.

"Just try your best." Theodore said to Eleanor, trying to calm her nerves.

"Thanks Theo, I will." She replied, her confidence being bolstered by his support.

"Just in time." Dave shouted from the gymnasium entrance as the six of them arrived. "Let's go."

Dave lead them into the gymnasium and over to the performance area. There were three individual chess tables spaced far apart with spectator stands around the perimeter. The area was already quite busy, with camera crews and reporters already in place.

"You still have about five minutes until we start." Dave informed the six of them. "So you can go and change into your competition outfits."

"Okay Dave," Eleanor replied as the three of them went to the changing area.

Alvin, Brittany and Theodore remained with Dave to wait for the start of the next round.

"I wonder where the jocks are." Theodore said as he checked out his surroundings.

"They're probably too scared of losing, and chickened out." Alvin said confidently.

"Don't be so sure." Brittany replied, as she noticed the jocks entering the gymnasium.

Ryan was at the head of the group and he was backed up by his wingmen; Xander and Jeremy. They headed in the chipmunks direction until they noticed that Dr Rubin was also heading in the same direction. Ryan and the gang immediately stopped in their tracks and began a group huddle, as if planning for the chess round.

Dave had also spotted Dr Rubin and headed in her direction to meet up with her. This left the three members of the chipmunk team unsupervised and unguarded. Dave and Dr Rubin had a brief discussion; whilst the jocks and chipmunks watched on. Finally, Dave turned back to the chipmunks, and Dr Rubin headed over to the performance area.

"I've got to go help with the draw for the chess matches." Dave informed the three of them. "You'll be okay finding the team bench, right?"

"Of course." Brittany answered.

"We're not babies, Dave." Alvin added.

Dave rolled his eyes before turning and heading towards Dr Rubin and the hundreds of spectators.

Seeing the opportunity, Ryan, Xander and another of their jock recruits headed over towards the chipmunks, whilst Jeremy took the rest of the team to prepare for the chess matches. Ryan had the look of a troublemaker as he walked over to the three of them. Alvin in turn, looked fired up and it was evident that there was going to be a confrontation. Even though the inevitable clash was happening away from the staging area, a couple of journalists and camera men caught onto the out of the spotlight action and quickly homed in.

"I see you managed to get out of that locker." Ryan mocked. "Maybe you would have been better staying in there."

"So I wouldn't have to look at you?" Alvin replied.

"You think you're smart, huh?" Ryan intimidated.

"Not really; but I know I'm smarter than you." Alvin answered back, beginning to look as angry as Ryan had become.

Ryan took a swift step towards them, in an attempt to scare them off. Theodore immediately backed off, scared that Ryan was going to do something to them. Brittany too backed off just a couple of steps; overwhelmed by the ferocity of Ryan's foot stamping on the ground. Looking across, Alvin hadn't budged an inch and was standing his ground. He wasn't about to let Ryan get one over on him, and he certainly wasn't going to let the jocks bully the rest of the team.

By now the tension was high and sparks were beginning to fly; the media were catching the incident as it unfolded and it didn't look as if either side was willing to back down. Luckily, for the sake of both team, Dr Rubin began introducing the next round of the competition using her microphone. This interrupted the confrontation for the time being, causing Alvin and Ryan to break off from their head to head.

"Don't get so cocky." Ryan warned.

"You're gonna wish that you and your 'Jocks' never turned up." Alvin battled back as Brittany ushered him away from the heated debate.

Ryan was led away from the confrontation in a similar fashion by the other members of the jock team.

The focus had now turned to the next round of the competition; allowing the two team benches to compose themselves and cool down. They all took their places at the opposite sides of the chess arena, Alvin and Ryan still trading glares as the team benches were positioned facing each other.

The two teams of competitors emerged from the changing area and joined Dr Rubin and Dave for the first part of the round.

"Okay, now that the competitors are here; we can begin the draw for the chess round." Dr Rubin announced. "Each competitor will draw a ball from their box and these will decide which table they will be playing at."

The first person to step up was John from the Jock team, he drew his ball and revealed the number; he was playing on table three. Next up was Simon; he drew his ball with the help of Dave and was allocated table number one. The next to draw a numbered ball was Kevin, another member of the Jock team; he was sent to table number two.

There was now one competitor on each table and the remaining players to draw would know immediately who they were going to play. Jeanette let Eleanor go next; there were only two tables that she could possibly play at, but because of her nerves she hadn't noticed. Eleanor drew her number and hoped for the best. Her ball was number three; so she was pitted against John on the third table. The rest of the draw was a formality, but the balls were drawn anyway. The final playing order was announced by Dr Rubin; table 1: Simon vs. Jeremy, table 2: Jeanette vs. Kevin, table 3: Eleanor vs. John.

The players all moved to their specified tables in preparation of the start of the chess round. All of the cameras focused in on the tables and competitors; the stage was set and all that was left to do was perform.

Dave and the others sat on the team bench, eager for the matches to get underway. Theodore was focusing on Eleanor's match, whilst Alvin and Brittany were both keeping an eye on the other two tables.

Finally, the time had come; all of the practise was finally going to be put to the test. The spectators went silent as Dr Rubin stepped up to her table in the competition area.

"Ready? Begin!" She said hitting a bell to signal the start of the matches.

Immediately after the bell, Jeanette began her strategy by moving a pawn. She was quick off the mark and left the jock competitor to think about his move. It was a clear technique to unnerve the opponent and put him on the spot. These mind games were sure to be successful on the jocks, and they certainly wouldn't be able to counter them.

At a slightly slower pace, Simon and Jeremy were playing tactically; positioning pieces in an attempt to control the centre squares of the board. At this early stage of the match it wasn't clear which way the game would go.

At an even slower pace was Eleanor's match, she was really taking her time because of either nerves or concentration; only she was to know.

After five minutes, Jeanette's match looked all but over, she was cruising to victory and had Kevin's king pinned in a corner using two rooks.

"Looks like Jeanette is about to win." Dave commented analysing the board, from the team.

"Really?" Brittany asked.

Jeanette mover one of her rooks to the corner to the corner of the board; leaving the two rows at the end of the board covered. Kevin's king was in one of the corners that were covered by the rooks and so had nowhere to move out of check.

"Checkmate." Jeanette announced happily.

A resigning groan came from Kevin as he knew that the inevitable had happened, and that Ryan would not be pleased.

"The match is over; Jeanette wins." Dr Rubin announced.

"How did you know?" Alvin asked Dave.

"Give me some credit; I know the basic rules of chess." Dave replied.

"Okay, so how is Simon doing?" Alvin quizzed.

Dave looked across at the table for a few moments before coming up with his analysis.

"It's a very good match; I wouldn't want to call it." Dave said as he watched Simon moving one of his pieces.

"But if you had to?" Brittany asked, urging Dave for an answer.

"I would say that Simon may just edge it." Dave replied.

"Alright!" Alvin celebrated.

"Calm down; he's not won yet." Brittany said.

But sure enough within five more minutes, Simon was celebrating victory; winning by the narrowest of margins. Jeremy was left with just his king when checkmate was reached, while Simon had one bishop more than him.

Simon joined Jeanette and the others on the team bench to celebrate their well-earned victory of the second round. Although the third result would not affect the overall result of the round; Theodore was more intent on watching Eleanor play than celebrating with the others. He knew that the result did not matter, but he still wanted Eleanor to win for all the hard work that she had put in, and he was willing her on from the side-lines.

The match was moving towards its closing phase, with only a hand full of pieces of each colour on the board. Crucially, Eleanor still had the queen on the board and John did not, and she made the advantage pay with her next move. Her queen took out a knight and put John's king in check.

John looked under pressure and it was beginning to show, his next move was a clumsy one; leaving his king in its current position and attempting cover it with another piece. This poor move proved to be his last, as Eleanor moved her queen to the neighbouring square of John's king and finished the match. Eleanor's final move was perfectly executed as her queen was covered from a distance by a rook, ultimately bringing checkmate and the victory to her.

A huge smile spread across her face as she realised that she had actually won. Theodore's reaction was similar as he saw Eleanor's facial expression change from one of a serious nature to that of relief and joy.

"That's checkmate, and the match has been won by Eleanor." Dr Rubin announced.

On hearing this, the team rushed from the bench to congratulate Eleanor and celebrate the win; Theodore ahead of the rest. They had actually done it; they were back on level terms in the competition and had pulled off an impressive victory to silence the critics.

"The round goes to the Chipmunk team, 3-0." Dr Rubin continued, looking gleeful herself. "The press conference will follow shortly."

The spectators began to leave and most of the media moved across to the allocated press conferencing area, apart from a couple of television crews. The cameras were still rolling, catching the pure joy and relief of the chipmunk team as they celebrated.

"Well done Elle, I'm so proud of you." Theodore congratulated.

"Thanks Theo," she replied happily, putting her arms around him and giving him a big hug.

"Yeah, you were great," Brittany agreed.

"Good job." Simon praised.

"Three from three; well done." Jeanette added.

"Thanks guys, it was a team effort." Eleanor replied modestly.

"It was awesome, everyone deserves a medal." Alvin said.

"I wouldn't go that far." Simon replied.

"But it was a brilliant team effort." Dave encouraged, "You have all come a long way since the beginning of this competition."

"And you showed the jocks what we're really made of." Alvin added.

"Okay guys, the press conference is about to start, are you ready?" Dave asked.

"Sure, we have nothing to worry about." Eleanor replied happily.

The team headed over to the press conference setup and Dr Rubin, taking their allocated positions. Only the competitors take part in the interview, so Alvin, Brittany, Theodore and Dave all took a seat at the side of the stage and watched on. The jocks also took their positions, allowing Dr Rubin to proceed with commencing the press conference.

"Welcome to the post-match press conference, the result of the chess round has just been decided. So without further ado, I will throw open the floor to any questions you may want to ask the competitors." Dr Rubin announced.

"How does it feel to win the second round so comfortably?" A reporter asked; beating all the other media personnel to the first question.

"It's great, although the result was never really in any doubt." Simon said confidently, basking in the glory.

"How about the rest of the team?" The reported continued.

"It did feel good to win." Jeanette admitted modestly.

"I'm just glad it's over." Eleanor added.

The next question was aimed at the jocks and it was a bit of a low blow.

"Suffering a heavy 3-0 loss must have lowered your team's morale. How are you going to react?" A news presenter asked.

"Well, I'm sure it's not as bad as you're making it out to be." Jeremy explained, "We'll simply focus on the next round and take it one step at a time."

The other members of the jock team simply sat in silence with their heads slightly lowered. It looked as if the loss in the chess round had taken its toll and the team was feeling the effects.

The next question to be asked was aimed back at the chipmunk team, giving Simon another opportunity to gloat over his superior intellect in comparison to the jocks.

"Do you consider the score line to be an accurate read of the event?" A sports reporter quizzed.

"In my opinion, yes; we cruised to victory with little resistance to stop us." Simon boasted.

By now it was evident that Simon was rubbing salt into the wound, as the jock team sat on the panel looking sorry for themselves. Out of the spotlight, Ryan's blood was boiling after witnessing the repeated putting down of his team by Simon. He was clenching his fists as he watched the interview continue in a similar manner to the first couple of questions; the jocks bearing the brunt of the criticism.

Alvin had noticed that Ryan was getting in a temper and wanted to annoy him by pushing his buttons in any way possible. There were a few metres between where the two of them were sat, but Alvin still found a way to provoke Ryan. He began making deliberate and obvious glances over in Ryan's direction to catch his attention. Despite his best efforts, Ryan could not ignore Alvin's disrespect behaviour and arrogance towards him.

"You're asking for trouble." Ryan warned him.

"It looks like _you're_ in trouble; we won this round easy and we're gonna win the next." Alvin answered back, rubbing in the fact that the jocks lost badly.

By now, Ryan was near to breaking point; he was ready to punch someone and his prime candidate was Alvin. He gestured an attempt at an attack on Alvin, but restrained himself from actually carrying out the deed. In reply to this threatening action, Alvin simply laughed it off. He knew that Ryan wouldn't dare lay a finger on him with all the media coverage going on, and this insurance policy gave him some extra courage.

Ryan looked back at the stage to see Jeremy, once again being gracious in defeat and being complementary towards the chipmunk team. This was the final straw; Ryan had seen enough and stormed out of the gymnasium, charging around the back of the seated audience in the process.

Seeing this incident, Dr Rubin decided to finish the press conference; wrapping up the second round and leaving the competition finely poised for an epic third round.

"The next press conference will be held tomorrow at 3:00pm in the music room. Thank you all for attending and we hope to see you at the next event." Dr Rubin concluded.

This signalled the end of an enjoyable second round for the chipmunk team. The media left the gymnasium, as did the remaining members of the jock team. Leaving the chipmunk team to celebrate their victory together and head home on the back of an emphatic win.

Later on at dinner, the chipmunks and chipettes were still on top of the world and raring to go for the next round.

"I know you are all fired up for the next round, but I think that you should take it easy for the rest of the day. You should rest up and start fresh tomorrow." Dave suggested.

"But we need to keep on top of the competition." Alvin protested.

"The next round isn't until Monday." Dave reminded.

"We could do with the rest." Simon added. "It would be beneficial."

"Okay, fine." Alvin replied slightly annoyed. "We start training tomorrow."

"Besides, you weren't the one participating today." Simon pointed out.

"I know; I just want the team to be ready for the next round." Alvin explained.

"Well, if that's the case why don't you get a head start yourself." Dave suggested.

"Yeah, I'll make sure I'm ready to beat the jocks." Alvin replied positively.

The six of them finished their dinners and left the table to relax for the rest of the evening. All except Alvin, who went to the computer to start practising for the video games round. He was determined to win the next round and lead the team to victory. He would need to be on top form, and the only way to ensure that was to get in as much practise as possible. With all this in mind, Alvin played his racing game for the next couple of hours; taking much needed breaks every hour or so.

After playing the game for quite a long time, Alvin was interrupted by Dave.

"You've been on that computer for a long time; you'll have square eyes." Dave warned.

"Show me one person who has actually gotten square eyes." Alvin challenged.

"Well, you've got me there." Dave said. "But it is getting late, and you do have school in the morning."

"It's not that late." Alvin protested, looking at the clock and then realising that 9:30pm was pretty late in the day.

"I think you should call it a night. You can rest up and start training the others tomorrow." Dave began persuading. "They need you fighting fit and ready to lead them."

"I guess you're right." Alvin replied, realising the importance of the role of being team captain.

He left the computer and went to get something to drink, before joining the others in getting ready for bed.

"Well done today guys," Alvin praised, respecting the fact that they had made Ryan look stupid.

"Thanks Alvin." Jeanette replied.

"Yeah, praise coming from you is rare." Simon added.

"It was a team effort." Eleanor said, "We all deserve credit."

"Well, you did good." Brittany replied.

"Now let's all get some sleep." Theodore suggested as he settled down in bed.

"Good idea." Dave agreed, standing in the doorway to the bedroom.

The six of them all settled down and went to sleep, knowing that the pressure of the competition was off after they had won the second round. The next step towards beating the jocks would be the third round, which was the video games round. But before that they would have to go through the pre-match press conference, and with Alvin involved he will surely stir up the competition.

* * *

That's a relief, withe the competition at 1-1 the chipmunk team can now focus on the next round. With Alvin an Ryan facing off against each other.


	24. Clearing the Mind

**The chipmunks have to deal with the press conference for the video games round; as well as having a relaxing night out to take their minds of the competition.**

* * *

Once again it's Friday and almost weekend, the chipmunks and chipettes still have the press conference to complete before the end of the school week. Yesterday's victory in the chess round and the fact that it was almost weekend were enough to spur them into getting out of bed. All except Alvin; who was still trying to sleep through the daylight.

The others all took their turns in the bathroom as part of the usual routine, before joining Dave for breakfast. On arrival at the table, Dave noticed that there were only five of them and immediately identified Alvin as having a lie in.

"Looks like Alvin is sleeping in again." Dave said as he put the breakfast out on the table.

"I'm sure he's up." Brittany replied

The others looked across at one another trading expressions of doubt. They knew Alvin would be in bed still, and could see that Brittany was just trying to stick up for him.

"Well, if he is up, can you go and hurry him along?" Dave asked Brittany.

"Sure," She replied hopping down from the table and heading towards the bedroom.

"Don't be too long or we might be late for school." Dave cautioned.

Brittany hurried in the direction of the bedroom, checking if Alvin was in the bathroom on her way. Alvin, of course, was still in bed and still attempting to get back to sleep. All the video game playing he had done the previous evening had hindered his sleeping and he still felt tired.

"Alvin." Brittany called as she entered the bedroom.

Knowing that Brittany was coming to check on him on her own, Alvin decided to play a devilish prank. He didn't respond to her call; giving the impression that he was still asleep.

"Come on Alvin, we'll be late," Brittany said, approaching the bottom of the bunk bed.

Alvin still didn't reply; causing Brittany to start becoming annoyed with him. Either he was ignoring her on purpose or he was sleeping heavy, and Brittany assumed that he was trying to wind her up.

Alvin knew that Brittany would jump up onto his bed in a few seconds, so he took his position and prepared for his award winning performance. Sure enough Brittany hopped up onto his bed for an up-close and personal wakeup call.

"Alvin! Get up!" She ordered.

She towered over him after not getting a response; her rage beginning to build. But all of a sudden her rage seeped away and was replaced with seeds of worry. She had noticed that Alvin hadn't responded to her point blank wakeup call and he hadn't moved a muscle. That meant he couldn't be asleep; therefore he must be playing another one of his stupid pranks. But those seeds of worry were sown when she watched Alvin for a few seconds and noticed he wasn't breathing.

Immediately Brittany began to panic, shaking Alvin violently in an attempt to make him snap out of it. It was no good, she didn't know what to do, maybe Dave would know. Brittany was now in a frenzy; the panicking was making her hands shake and she was feeling slightly flush. She turned and headed to the end of the bed to call Dave, but was knocked over.

"So you do care." Alvin said.

He jumped off her back and allowed her to get up as he moved to a safe distance.

"Gotcha didn't I?" Alvin joked.

Brittany wasn't looking very amused and certainly not in the mood to joke with him. This _joke_ was a step further than his regular pranks and tomfoolery, and proved to be one step too far.

"That wasn't very nice," Brittany said with tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad." Alvin replied trying to comfort her.

"Why? Alvin." Brittany asked, visibly upset by the experience.

"I don't know." Alvin replied feeling remorse for what he had done.

"You know I have feelings for you; why would you pretend to be dead?" Brittany criticised, wiping away the tears from her eyes with her sleeve.

"I feel awful, Britt, I'm sorry." Alvin replied. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Maybe those video games went to your brain." Brittany accused.

"I'm still sorry, how can I make it up to you?" Alvin apologised again.

Brittany saw this continuous onslaught of apologies and heard the sincerity in his voice, but still felt like she had been made fool of. She couldn't stay mad at him, but he needed to make it up to her big time.

"You can start by giving me a hug." Brittany proposed.

"One hug; coming up." Alvin said happily.

The two of them embraced one another; Alvin feeling forgiven and Brittany feeling comforted after what she had just experienced. The two of them broke off from the hug and realised that they had school.

"You still haven't made it up to me, you know?" Brittany said as they headed out of the bedroom. "A hug isn't enough."

"Well, what else?" Alvin asked curiously.

"I don't know yet, but I'll let you know when I think of something." Brittany replied.

"Okay, but just to let you know; I'm really sorry for playing such an immature prank." Alvin apologised yet again.

This gave Brittany an idea; Alvin was always playing pranks on her, but he could redirect them and target someone else for a change.

"Instead of pranking me, why don't you play one of you tricks on someone else?" Brittany suggested.

"Huh?" Alvin replied slightly confused.

"Do that and I'll forget about the so called joke you pulled on me." Brittany bargained.

"Deal." Alvin replied quickly, jumping on the chance to make amends. "So who did you have in mind?" He asked curiously.

Brittany leaned over to him and whispered into his ear. Alvin's reaction was one of shock, he hadn't expected Brittany to say what she had, but had bargained with her.

"Are you sure?" Alvin questioned.

"Hey, you agreed to it, remember?" Brittany reminded.

"Okay, I'll do it, for you." Alvin replied.

The two of them parted ways at the bathroom door and Brittany returned to her breakfast. The others were already finishing and leaving the table to prepare for school.

"Don't take too long," Dave warned, "We have to leave in ten minutes."

Soon after, Alvin joined her at the table and they had breakfast together; joking and laughing about their proposed prank as they ate. They seemed to have patched over the earlier dispute and were acting as normal.

The Chipmunks, Chipettes and Dave all arrived at school on time after the slight delay that Alvin and Brittany had caused. Dave, as usual, left to go to a morning briefing with Dr Rubin; leaving the six of them to prepare for their first classes. All the while that they were using their lockers, Alvin was talking about video games and how he was so good at them.

"I hope you'll help us win the next round, if you're so good at playing video games." Simon interrupted.

"Well duh, it is one of my specialist areas." Alvin replied.

Simon rolled his eyes and headed away from the lockers; off to his first class. Jeanette gathered her belongings and followed in Simon's direction.

"See you guys later," Jeanette said.

"See ya." Eleanor replied.

Theodore had finished using his locker and was ready to go to class, but decided to wait for Eleanor. He watched Alvin continue to talk about his video game experience to an uninterested Brittany, as she rummaged through her things.

"As much as I'm glad that you're confident about the video games, I hope you aren't going to talk about them all day." Brittany said as she shut her locker.

"I'm just psyched about the press conference," Alvin explained.

"It's gonna be a laugh," Brittany agreed.

"See you at break," Eleanor said before leaving for her first class, with Theodore.

"Bye," Brittany replied.

Alvin and Brittany then headed to their class, with Alvin still talking about anything that was related to video games.

The six chipmunks met up at their lockers during break, for a brief catch up. Brittany arrived with her fingers in her ears; trying not to listen to Alvin's continuous talking.

"Ready for the press conference later?" Alvin asked

"I hope so." Theodore replied.

"As ready as I can be." Jeanette added.

"Don't worry; I have all the expertise and knowledge of the subject we need to guide us through." Alvin assured them.

"I hope that your confidence isn't misplaced," Simon commented, "because you're acting really full of yourself."

"Come on, we're against the jocks," Alvin reminded. "They're not the types to know how to play video games, or even how to use one."

"I guess you have a point." Brittany replied.

"The jocks couldn't play chess, so they'll probably struggle with the video games as well." Alvin pointed out.

Alvin's spirit lifting comments were sure to have a positive effect on the team, but Simon was still concerned about Alvin's attitude.

"I still think you may be a little overconfident; don't you think you're underestimating the competition." Simon questioned, voicing his concern.

"Simon's right; there's no room for complacency." Jeanette agreed.

"You're worrying too much; after all I'm the team leader with my superior video game skills." Alvin reiterated.

The others just sighed in reply; they had heard it before and were getting bored of hearing how awesome he was. No doubt Alvin would continue to voice his video gaming ability throughout the day and in the press conference as well. Looking for an excuse to get away from Alvin's incessant boasting; Simon noticed the time and quickly used it as a scapegoat to hightail it out of there. The others all quickly dispersed as well to escape Alvin's video game propaganda campaign that seemed to be going on. Unfortunately, Brittany could not leave, and had to wait behind for Alvin as the two of them were in the same class again. She was going to have to put up with another session of listening to Alvin talking about video games and nothing else. The two of them walked off down the hallway to their next class together; Brittany with a visibly slumped posture from the energy being used to ignore Alvin.

Upon meeting up for lunch, it was soon evident and also obvious what Alvin was going to talk about. The others were all becoming slightly annoyed by this, and were relieved when Dave came to their table to join them. This temporarily interrupted Alvin and gave them all a break from hearing about Alvin's video game skills and abilities.

"So, what have you all been up to?" Dave asked as he sat down to eat his lunch.

"Well, we've been listening to Alvin talking about video games for virtually all of the day so far." Simon said.

"I'm focused on the next round." Alvin protested.

"A little too focused." Brittany commented.

"Make sure you don't become narrow sighted," Dave warned, "Remember to look at the big picture."

"Yeah, it's a team effort." Eleanor reminded.

"So we need to prepare for the press conference as a team." Theodore added.

"I guess you're right." Alvin said contemplating his obsession with his own video gaming abilities. "Let's work out what we are going to do in the next round."

"It sounds like you've all got the right idea," Dave replied, "I'll leave you to it."

Dave left the table, allowing the chipmunks to discuss their plan for the press conference and training for the next event. Alvin had now come to his senses after listening to Dave, and now realised that the whole team would have to perform for them to win the next round.

The rest of the school day passed without incident; the jocks didn't have the opportunity for intimidation, and the chipmunks and chipettes met back at their lockers at 3pm.

"Ready for the press conference?" Simon asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be?" Jeanette replied.

"How about you?" Eleanor asked Theodore.

"I'm a little nervous, but Alvin will help us, right?" Theodore replied.

The others turned to Alvin at this point for a response, but he was too busy chatting to Brittany and laughing.

"It'll be so funny." Alvin said to Brittany, before noticing the others were looking over at him.

"What's going to be funny?" Simon questioned, becoming suspicious about what Alvin was up to.

"You'll see." Alvin replied taking point as the six of them set off to the press conference.

They soon arrived at the music room where the press conference was taking place; suspicion still surrounding Alvin. But the suspicion was replaced nerves, when the six of them entered and saw the amount of media personnel who had gathered. The competition was evidently gaining momentum and popularity judging by the amount of people turning up. This just added more pressure and made the press conference all the more important.

On venturing further into the music room, they were greeted by Dave who directed them to their places on the interviewing panel. Brittany, Simon and Eleanor went to the seating area to get a good seat for the press conference, and were joined shortly after by Dave. The four of them watched as Alvin, Jeanette and Theodore went to take their places. Alvin went the long way round to his seat, heading past the jocks' seating positions on his journey. He took a while, but finally arrived at his seat a fair amount of time after Jeanette and Theodore.

The jocks arrived at the last minute and rushed to take their places for the press conference. With the cameras rolling, the jocks sat down in their seats. As soon as Ryan sat down on his seat, he immediately fell backwards landing on the floor as the seat dismantled. Alvin and the rest of the team, as well as the media presence, all burst out laughing.

"I did say it'd be funny." Alvin said to Jeanette and Theodore.

They were so amused by the antics of Ryan sitting on the chair that they had completely forgotten how nervous they were.

"Alvin was right." Brittany said.

So it was Alvin's doing?" Simon replied.

"Yeah, I put him up to it." Brittany added.

"That's what you two meant by 'funny'." Eleanor said.

"Did Alvin have anything to do with this?" Dave asked as he returned from a brief chat with Dr Rubin.

"Of course." Brittany replied.

Ryan got up with a very annoyed look on his face; all the cameras catching the farce and broadcasting it across the country. Dr Rubin quickly dashed across to the panel with another chair to swap for the broken one. While all this was happening, Alvin was laughing hysterically and enjoying every moment; revenge was sweet.

Ryan looked across at Alvin and immediately jumped to the conclusion that Alvin was the culprit; sabotaging the chair. Whether out of vengeance or shear dumb luck, Ryan had figured out that it was Alvin and he would not show him any mercy in the future. He gave Alvin an evil look before sitting on his new seat and taking his place.

Alvin stopped laughing after seeing Ryan's individual focus of anger towards him, and knew he was going to have to avoid him in the future.

"I know it was you." Ryan whispered angrily across at Alvin; being careful not to let the media hear.

Alvin did not reply; he just focused on being ready for the start of the press conference. Jeanette saw this and knew that Alvin was just digging himself deeper into a hole.

"If you play with fire you're going to get burned." Jeanette warned.

"Relax." Alvin reassured.

He understood that he was just provoking Ryan, but Brittany had put him up to it; so he had to.

Dr Rubin took centre stage and began the introduction for the press conference.

"Welcome all, to the third round press conference of the competition. As you know, the score is tied at one round each and the next is to be video games. So, without further ado, I will throw open the floor for the questions to be asked." Dr Rubin informed professionally.

As soon as she had finished her sentence, a swarm of hands were raised; waiting to be signalled to ask a question. Once chosen, the first question was aimed toward the chipmunk team.

"How much experience does each member of your team have at playing video games?" A reporter asked.

Alvin was the first to answer and stepped in confidently ahead of the others.

"I'm no novice; I am confident of handling any game that comes my way." Alvin replied.

"Okay, Theodore?" The reporter continued.

"I'm not really very good; but Alvin's going to teach me." Theodore admitted.

"And Jeanette?" The reporter asked.

"Well…I'm a complete novice; I don't play video games. But it doesn't look too challenging and like Theodore said; Alvin is going to train us." Jeanette answered honestly.

Another reporter stood up and asked a question following on from the previous one; again aimed at the chipmunk team.

"From your answers it seems you are confident that Alvin can teach you the basics, but is it going to be enough?" The reporter questioned.

Jeanette and Theodore looked at each other with uneasy looks on their faces; unsure as to whether Alvin could teach them to a high enough standard or not. They then looked across to Alvin for a response; either to reassure them or cause some more concern. But the expression on Alvin's face was reassuring enough; he had an air of confidence about him.

"The level I play at is easily enough to beat the 'jocks', so I'm sure I can train my team up to a higher standard." Alvin replied positively.

This was the cue for the next question, and this one was the first to be asked to the jock team.

"Given your opponents' confidence of their superior playing skill, how do you rate your chances of winning and do you have the skills to match them?" A journalist asked.

"We've got way more skill than those guys, and we'll prove it by crushing them in the next round like we did in the dodge ball match." Ryan replied, using past experience to highlight their strengths.

"You sound very confident; does your team have some experienced players?" A news reporter asked as a follow up question.

"Well, Xander and I may not be the best video gamers but Kevin is." Ryan replied.

"He's easily better than us." Xander added.

Ryan punched him in the arm, as he was once again making him look bad. The two of them then looked across at Kevin; waiting for him to say something.

"I did enter the regional gaming championship." Kevin answered modestly.

"And he made the top 100." Ryan added, showing how good the team really was.

"That's impressive." The news reporter replied before sitting down.

"What category would you say was your strongest?" A gaming reporter asked.

"I have a good performance rating at racing games." Kevin replied.

"So if there is a racing game; we are going to dominate." Ryan added.

And with that the press conference petered out and came to a close, with the 'jocks' seeming to have the upper hand going into the next round. The media vacated the premises and the jocks exited the room, laughing with an air of confidence. The chipmunk team saw this and it made them feel a bit uneasy.

"Oh boy." Theodore said beginning to worry.

"We have our work cut out for us." Jeanette added.

"Don't worry guys." Eleanor said.

"Yeah, they talk big but it's what they do in the next round that counts." Brittany encouraged.

"That's what we're afraid of; it's no easy task getting into the regional gaming championships." Simon replied.

"Don't worry about it." Alvin said, "I'll get us through this, just wait and see."

"I hope so." Brittany replied.

"If we go 2-1 down in the competition it's going to be tough to win it." Jeanette pointed out.

"We need to focus on the next round, don't get all worked up about the rest of the competition." Alvin said determined to lead the team forward. "We haven't lost the third round yet; so let's make sure we don't."

"It sounds like you're rallying the troops." Dave said as he joined them.

"I'm trying." Alvin replied.

"Alvin's right, you know?" Dave said to the others. "It's not over until it's over; there's always a chance that you can win the next round, so don't give up and throw it away."

"It's strange for you to agree with Alvin; but if you put it that way it makes sense." Simon replied.

"Besides, getting all worked up is the last thing we need to be doing." Alvin pointed out.

"Right again, you took the words right out of my mouth." Dave said.

"So we should all relax." Alvin suggested.

"Yeah, take the night off and then start training tomorrow; sound good?" Dave asked.

"Sure does," Brittany replied.

"You bet." Simon answered.

"Let's start by going home." Dave suggested.

The six of them followed Dave out of the music room and round to the car park. They could relax for the rest of the day and let the next round slip out of their minds for the time being. Dave opened the car door and let the six of them hop in, before getting in the car himself and starting the engine.

"Everyone buckled up?" Dave asked.

The six of them nodded in response.

"So put your foot down and let's go." Alvin said becoming impatient.

"Okay." Dave replied.

Just as he was putting the car in gear, his phone rang; forcing him to leave the car stationary to answer the phone call.

"Just a second, guys." Dave said as he picked up the phone.

"Sure, it's not like we're going anywhere." Alvin replied jokingly.

Dave frowned at Alvin before taking the call.

"Hello. I haven't heard from you in ages; how have you been?" Dave said.

"Sounds like a long phone call." Simon said to the others.

"Like I said; we're not going anywhere." Alvin reiterated.

Dave continued to listen on the phone; attempting to ignore Alvin and Simon in the background.

"That's great. Yeah, sure. Okay, well, when do you want to meet up?" Dave continued on the phone.

Alvin raised an eyebrow, realising that Dave was making plans to meet up with someone outside of work. Brittany noticed the look on Alvin's face and then saw Simon rolling his eyes.

"Don't ask." Simon said to Brittany; not wanting to set Alvin off talking.

Meanwhile Dave was continuing his progressively lengthening phone call.

"Yeah, how about making it dinner? At 7?" Dave asked.

Alvin now had a huge grin on his face; slightly disturbing to the others.

"Oh brother." Simon said.

Dave began laughing on the phone; it sounded like he was getting along well with the person on the other end of the line.

"Okay, see you there." Dave said before putting the phone down.

Dave was looking really upbeat after taking the call, and this lead Alvin to believe that Dave had gotten a date.

"Dave's got a date, Dave's got a date." Alvin chirped up teasingly.

"Really?" Brittany asked becoming excited.

"When is it?" Eleanor asked curiously.

"It's tonight at 7," Dave interrupted, "But it's not a date."

"Who is it?" Jeanette asked.

"You don't know her." Dave replied vaguely, dodging the question.

"Her? So it has to be a date." Alvin deducted.

"It's not a date!" Dave reiterated.

"Okay, fine." Alvin replied.

Dave put the car in gear and drove out of his parking space and to the exit of the parking lot.

"It's a date." Alvin whispered to the others.

"Alvin!" Dave warned after overhearing him.

On arriving home, the chipmunks and chipettes all went to relax around the house. It was already around five o'clock and Dave had his meeting at seven. He began to get ready as soon as he had put all his work materials in his music room. It was a twenty minute drive to the restaurant that they were meeting at and Dave definitely did not want to be late. That left him and hour or so to get ready, and to organise the chipmunks and chipettes.

The six of them were now in the living room watching highlights of the press conference; Dave saw this as a chance to talk to them all.

"Look at his smug face; he thinks he's so awesome." Alvin commented as Ryan appeared on the screen.

"Hey guys," Dave said as he approached.

"Ready for tonight?" Simon asked.

"I told you; it's not a date." Dave reminded.

"I never mentioned the word 'date'." Simon replied.

"Gotcha'." Alvin said.

"Busted." Brittany added.

The others giggled; Dave was so bad at hiding secrets. He began to blush before getting his head on straight and realising that time was ticking.

"Seriously guys. It's not a date, and besides; you're all coming with me." Dave informed.

"Us?" Alvin asked.

"Really?" Brittany questioned.

"Why?" Simon asked.

"I thought it was a date?" Eleanor added.

"For the last time; it _is not _a date." Dave replied.

"Chill out," Alvin said. "We're just joking."

"The whole _meeting_ is about you guys and the competition." Dave pointed out.

"So it has nothing to do with your friend being a girl?" Alvin quizzed.

"_I_ am not going on a date!" Dave reiterated. "You guys can if you want; but I'm on a business meeting."

"Business meeting." Alvin chuckled.

By this point Dave had given up on arguing his case and was now more concerned with getting ready and getting there on time.

"So it'll be like a triple date." Eleanor said excitedly.

"I guess," Dave replied. "But you only have an hour to get ready."

"Okay." Eleanor replied.

"It's a fancy restaurant." Dave informed.

The chipettes dashed off to the bedroom to get ready for their date, while the chipmunks weren't quite as excited.

"Fancy restaurant?" Alvin said not looking anywhere near as thrilled as the chipettes were.

"I'll tell you what; we'll go catch a movie after." Dave suggested.

"As long as I get to pick." Alvin bartered.

"Deal, now go and get ready; the girls are going to the effort to look nice, so you should do the same." Dave replied.

"Let's go guys." Theodore said enthusiastically.

He led Alvin and Simon to get ready; leaving Dave with less than an hour to get ready himself.

An hour passed and the chipmunks were waiting patiently at the front door; wearing their usual colours but in smart looking shirt form. It was now a couple of minutes past six and less than an hour until their dates.

"Why does it take girls so long to get ready?" Alvin asked.

"Dave's not ready either." Simon pointed out.

"Hey guys, all set." Dave said emerging from his bedroom.

"Sure." Theodore replied happily.

"Looking good, Dave." Alvin commented.

"Thanks, are the girls ready?" Dave replied.

"They're still in the bedroom; we've been waiting for like twenty minutes." Alvin replied impatiently.

"It was worth the wait." Simon said as the chipettes emerged from the bedroom.

They were wearing the dresses that they had worn previously; when preparing for the photo shoot. They still looked as stunning as they had the last time, and the chipmunks were short for words on seeing them.

"Wow, you girls look great." Dave said, impressed by the effort they had gone to to look the part. "Perfect for the restaurant we're going to."

"Which restaurant _are_ we going to?" Jeanette asked.

"The Palm." Dave announced.

"No way." Brittany said in amazement.

"That's one of the best restaurants in the city." Eleanor added.

"And I've made reservations; which we'll have to hurry up if we're going to keep." Dave said.

"Right, let's get on the road." Alvin said, leaning on the frame of the front door.

Dave opened the door and the six of them made their ways to the car.

"We're going to a classy restaurant, shame about the car." Alvin said as he waited to get in.

"Hey it still works; so it doesn't need replacing." Dave replied.

"So if it stops working; we can get a new one with a bigger engine that goes faster?" Alvin quizzed.

"Don't go getting any ideas." Dave warned; fearing for the safety of his car.

"A newer, more efficient car would be cheaper to run." Simon pointed out.

"I'm not changing my car. Now hurry up and get in." Dave said opening the car door for the six of them to get in.

The chipmunks waited for the chipettes to catch up before getting in. Simon and Jeanette got in first and took the seat on the far side of the car, behind the driver's seat. Theodore and Eleanor were next to get in, taking the middle seat of the car; next to Simon and Jeanette. Leaving Alvin and Brittany with the seat on the passenger side; next to Theodore and Eleanor.

"Ladies first." Alvin said as he stood at the side of the car.

"Thanks Alvin," Brittany said happily, jumping into the car.

Alvin jumped in after and Dave checked that all their seat belts were securely fastened before shutting the door. Dave got in the car and started the engine, making sure to buckle up before setting off.

On the way to The Palm restaurant, Dave filled the six of them in on the events of the evening.

"When we get to the restaurant we're going to be at two separate tables. And after the meal, we're going to watch a movie. Regrettably, Alvin is going to choose the movie because I promised that he could." Dave informed the others.

"Don't pick a scary movie." Brittany warned.

"Fine, if you insist." Alvin replied.

They continued to talk about movies until they got near the restaurant; which did not take as long as expected. Dave gave them some last minute warnings before they arrived.

"Be on your best behaviour, guys; remember this is a classy restaurant. You will all be on a separate table to us." Dave informed the six of them.

"We know; you and your girlfriend will be on another table." Alvin said.

"Ex-girlfriend." Dave corrected before realising what he had said.

"O-oh." Alvin said teasingly.

"The cat's out of the bag." Simon added.

"Are you meeting with Claire?" Theodore asked.

"Never mind," Dave replied, "Just be on your best behaviour, alright?"

They drove into the parking lot of the restaurant and got out of the car, before making their way to the entrance. Dave was a couple of strides ahead, which was quite a distance; he must have been nervous or excited.

"Who's Claire?" Brittany asked.

"She's Dave's ex from way back." Alvin replied.

"We've already been introduced." Simon continued. "She covered our rise to fame."

"Claire's nice." Theodore added.

"Dave seems to think so." Alvin commented.

"Just don't go messing things up for him again." Simon warned.

"I won't." Alvin insisted.

"And no 'Love Doctor' nonsense." Simon added.

"Love Doctor? Alvin?" Brittany laughed.

"Thanks for that." Alvin said in annoyance at Simon for revealing past events.

"Don't interfere with Dave's date, okay?" Simon reiterated.

"Fine, I promise." Alvin replied becoming moody.

"Don't worry," Brittany said linking arms with him. "You can be my 'Love Doctor'."

"Oh brother." Simon said at hearing Brittany's reference.

"Come on Simon, this night is about all of us." Jeanette said holding his hand.

"You're right." Simon replied smiling back at her.

"It's nice to see everyone getting along." Eleanor said holding Theodore's hand.

"Yeah, this is going to be fun." Theodore added.

The six of them followed in Dave's direction and turned the corner towards the restaurant. Dave was heading straight towards the entrance to The Palm with purpose. Then they realised why; he was meeting up with Claire, who was stood outside waiting. They all caught up to Dave once he had stopped and was talking to Claire.

"Wait up next time." Alvin said as the six of them arrived.

"Sorry guys." Dave said.

"Sounds like you were in a rush." Claire said looking in Dave's direction.

"I didn't want to be late, that's all." Dave replied.

"Sure." Alvin commented sarcastically.

Brittany giggled as Alvin poked fun at Dave once again; this was met with a stern look.

"Still giving Dave a hard time? You haven't changed since last time we met." Claire said amused by the hassle that Dave must be going through.

She looked down at the six of them and noticed that Alvin was giving her a hint in the direction of Brittany and the chipettes.

"Oh, we haven't been formally introduced." Claire said to Dave.

"Girls this is Claire; she and I are old friends." Dave introduced.

"That's a nice way of putting it." Claire said happily.

"Claire these are the chipettes; as you probably already know." Dave continued.

"I do; Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor." Claire replied, looking to each one of them in turn.

"Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, what do you say we go inside and have something to eat?" Dave said prompting them to enter the restaurant.

"Okay," Claire replied, letting Dave lead the way.

Dave and Claire were shown to a table, and so were the chipmunks and chipettes; one that was overlooked by the two of them. They all took a few minutes to decide what to have before staff came over to take their orders.

The waitress that came to take the chipmunks' and chipettes' orders was young and seemingly delighted to be given the privilege of meeting the six of them; but especially Alvin. Brittany could tell just by watching her and was keeping a close eye on her as she took Alvin's order. Being the cheeky chipmunk that he was, Alvin gave the waitress a wink as she left the table with their orders. She smiled back before disappearing into the kitchen area of the restaurant. Brittany saw how flirty the two of them were with one another and she didn't like it. She couldn't very well blame the waitress; after all Alvin was famous. On the other hand, Alvin was flirtatious in nature and couldn't really help it, but she was still annoyed with him for leading the waitress on and not ignoring the whole thing.

Alvin seemed oblivious to the whole ordeal and was acting as if nothing had happened; making Brittany feel like she was overreacting. Despite this, she still felt rather annoyed that he was showing a waitress as much attention as her. Simon could see this developing and at the first opportunity shot Alvin a telling look; in an attempt to alert him to Brittany.

The others seemed oblivious to the goings on between Alvin and Brittany, and were preoccupied with other things. Jeanette was fascinated with her surroundings and was taking in the ambience of the restaurant. Theodore and Eleanor were talking to each other whilst looking at a menu; perhaps eying up the next course or even dessert in advance.

Meanwhile, Dave and Claire were getting along a little better on the other table. They had already ordered their food and were now talking about the business side of their meeting up.

"What is the main aim of your work this time?" Dave asked curiously.

"Well, all of the articles and newspapers I see are full of the same stuff about the chipmunks' stage life. I thought that maybe it would be nice to see behind the possible façade of the spotlight, and focus on the chipmunks as individuals off stage." Claire explained.

"I think it's a great idea; lots of bands and group can look one dimensional at times." Dave replied.

"Exactly, that's why I thought that doing some behind the scenes coverage of the chipmunks would be beneficial." Claire continued.

"If you're doing an in-depth look at their personal lives then you can't overlook the chipettes. They're an important part of the guys' lives." Dave pointed out.

"I can see; they look great together." Claire replied looking over at the couples and sighing.

Dave cleared him throat as the two of them seemed to have sat in silence for a while.

"Well, considering that we're friends; I can give you some help with the behind the scenes info." Dave proposed.

"Really? That would be great." Claire replied enthusiastically.

"We could…meet up again." Dave suggested. "With the chipmunks and chipettes of course."

"That sounds great." Claire answered.

Just at that moment, the whole intensity of the mood was interrupted by the arrival of the meal. The waiter served them and went on his way; leaving the two of them to continue talking.

The waitress returned to the table to serve the six of them; Brittany giving her evils as soon as she approached. Alvin was still in the mood to act flirty and was looking in the direction of the waitress. Simon new this was only going to end badly and had to prevent the two of them from ruining the whole evening; for Dave's sake.

Simon saw the waitress gazing in Alvin's direction and decided to stop this little rendezvous. Simon cleared his throat to get the waitress's attention and avert her gaze away from Alvin.

"Could I get a napkin, please?" Simon asked.

The waitress looked to the place that was set for Simon and realised that there was no napkin present. She turned around to the serving trolley to retrieve one, giving Simon a chance to address the developing situation. Alvin was now looking at Simon with an annoyed look on his face; he knew Simon was interrupting him and the waitress on purpose. He quickly looked under the table and then back at Simon with an even more annoyed look on his face. Simon wasn't missing a napkin; it was on the floor under his side of the table. Alvin could clearly see that he was trying to get the waitress's attention and came to the conclusion that Simon was jealous.

The eye contact with Alvin was enough of an opportunity for Simon to communicate his concern. He frowned and hinted towards the waitress, before shifting his eyes in Brittany's direction several times. Alvin looked at him for a few seconds before realising what his brother meant. He nodded in reply that he understood and turned his focus away from Simon and the waitress, and towards Brittany.

While all of this was going on, the others were all focused on the waitress. In Theodore and Eleanor's case, the food was the focus of their gaze. Jeanette was waiting patiently for the waitress to finish serving up the meal, and Brittany was continuing to glare.

"Everything okay Britt?" Alvin asked thoughtfully.

"Everything's fine." Brittany replied bluntly.

This signalled to Simon that there was something wrong; 'everything's fine' usually means that everything isn't fine. He gave Alvin a concerning look before turning his attention to the waitress, who gave him the napkin. The six of them then received their meals in turn, before the waitress left the table and calm resumed.

On the other table, Dave and Claire continued to talk business while they finished off their meal.

"The tour of England starts next month," Dave informed her.

"I know, the beginning of August; right?" Claire clarified.

"Yeah." Dave replied.

"I would love to cover that story." Claire said.

"Well, maybe you could help with the PR for it." Dave suggested.

"Really?" Claire asked excitedly.

"I could give you the heads up on any information about the tour, so that you can publish it first."

"Insider info, I'll do it." Claire agreed.

"Good; it'll benefit the chipmunks and chipettes substantially." Dave replied.

"Not to mention making my job a little easier." Claire added.

The two of them polished of their meals and decided to skip to dessert; looking at the prices was enough to influence this decision.

The chipmunks and chipettes also skipped to dessert as the course they had just eaten was big enough. The mood seemed to have settled down and the couples were enjoying one another's company. They were all done with their meals and the waitress came over to the table to collect the plates and take the next order. Once again the waitress was focused on Alvin, and Brittany had an eye on her; watching her every move. But surprisingly, Alvin gave her the cold shoulder and turned away. He had caught onto Brittany's frustration and had reacted accordingly.

"Brittany?" Alvin asked, snapping her out of her staring contest with the waitress. "Do you want to share a dessert?"

Alvin was trying to make amends by showering her with attention; the cold shoulder to the waitress was a start and sharing a dessert was the 'icing on the cake'. Brittany realised what Alvin had said and her heart melted; he way paying attention to her after all.

"Yeah." Brittany replied enthusiastically.

"Your choice." Alvin said.

"Okay. How about the strawberry cheesecake?" Brittany asked.

"Sure." Alvin replied happily.

The waitress took all the orders and left the table; leaving the six of them to talk while they waited. By this time, their table was attracting some considerable attention from members of the public who had realised that it was the chipmunks. All six of them had noticed this and were dreading being swarmed by fans; it would spoil their evening.

Two fans approached them for autographs; starting the whole crowd of the general public off.

"Sorry, no autographs tonight." Alvin announced. "We're on dates."

The chipettes all blushed on hearing this, as the whole crowd of chipmunk fans groaned in disappointment before dissipating from the table. Simon had a surprised look on his face as he never expected Alvin to announce their dates in public. Theodore had a smile across his face; Alvin had finally put family before fame.

Soon enough the waitress returned with the desserts; serving them up and still getting the cold shoulder from Alvin as he focussed his attention on Brittany. For Brittany, this was like a dream come true; being out on a date with Alvin, receiving all of his attention and sharing a dessert together. The others all started eating their desserts as well and were enjoying spending all the quality time with each other.

Dave and Claire were watching all of this unfold as they ate their desserts.

"That's so sweet." Claire said as she watched Alvin and Brittany. "Are they always like that?"

"Hardly, they seem to be friends one minute then enemies the next." Dave replied.

"Well, as long as they enjoy each other's company." Claire said.

"Speaking of which; I've enjoyed your company tonight." Dave said.

"Same here." Claire replied.

"So…do you have any plans for after the meal?" Dave asked.

"Well, not really, I have work to do but it's nothing urgent." Claire replied.

"Would you like to join me, I mean us, and go watch a movie." Dave proposed.

"Sure, what movie are we seeing?" Claire asked.

"I don't know," Dave replied.

"Don't know?" Claire quizzed.

"Unfortunately, Alvin is choosing." Dave informed her.

"It'll be some sort of action movie then." Claire said.

"It seems like you know Alvin well enough." Dave replied smiling.

"Are we going straight after dinner?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, I don't want the guys staying up too late." Dave replied looking at his watch; it was 8:50pm. "Would you like a lift to the cinema?"

"Well, I came by taxi, so I wouldn't mind." Claire replied.

"Okay." Dave replied happily.

The chipmunks and chipettes had now finished their desserts and were waiting for the bill. Dave and Claire had finished as well and had already paid for their meal. They came over to the chipmunks table and waited for the bill with them.

"Did you enjoy your meal?" Dave asked the six of them.

"Yeah." Theodore and Eleanor replied in unison.

Just at that moment the waitress returned with the bill.

"I hope you didn't spend too much." Dave said.

"Relax." Alvin said.

"Tell that to my credit card." Dave replied.

Dave gave the credit card to the waitress and she charged the cost of the meal to it. Once the bill was sorted out, they all left the restaurant and made their way to Dave's car.

"Are you coming with us, Claire?" Theodore asked.

"Yeah, I might as well make a night of it." Claire replied.

On arriving at the car, Dave opened the passenger door for Claire and then closed it behind her. The chipmunks and chipettes waited for Dave to open the door for them.

"Score, way to go Dave." Alvin commented.

"It's not like that." Dave replied frowning at Alvin, as he opened the door to let the six of them in.

Simon punched Alvin, cautioning him about messing up Dave's meeting with Claire. Dave got into the car and drove them all to the movie theatre.

"Here we are guys." Dave announced as he pulled into the parking lot and parked the car. "Now, don't go running off." He warned.

"Way ahead of you." Alvin said opening the car door by himself and jumping out.

Brittany followed his lead and eventually so did the others; by this time Alvin had already made his way across most of the parking lot.

"Stay close guys." Dave said wanting to keep them all out of harm's way.

"Alvin seems enthusiastic." Claire commented.

"A little too enthusiastic; he could get lost or hurt, running off like that." Dave replied.

Alvin was stood waiting for them as they arrived at the entrance to the movie theatre.

"No guesses which movie we're going to see," Simon said, noticing the poster on the wall behind Alvin.

"That's right." Alvin replied. "Fast and Furious 5."

"Okay, I'll go get the tickets." Dave said, leaving Claire with the chipmunks and chipettes, waiting in the lobby.

"So Claire, having a good time?" Alvin asked as he leant against a wall.

"Yeah, it's been fun." Claire replied.

Simon frowned at Alvin once again, as he watched his brother attempting to interrogate Claire.

"Dave not boring you then?" Alvin questioned.

"No, not really; I'm enjoying the company." Claire replied.

Alvin glanced across to the others and raised his eyebrows; prompting Simon to sigh and shake his head. But before Alvin could ask any more questions, Dave returned with the tickets.

"The movie's at 9:30, so we have ten minutes to get in there." Dave informed them all. "It's on screen 6."

"Dave? Can I have some popcorn?" Theodore asked.

"Yeah, me too?" Eleanor asked.

"Sure, but don't take too long." Dave replied.

The two of them scurried to the snack bar to get some popcorn, with Dave trailed along behind; money in hand. This left the other four with Claire, giving Alvin the chance to interrogate further. Simon soon put a stop to this by sidling up beside Alvin and giving him some advice.

"Stop asking Claire questions; she'll become self-conscious and it may ruin Dave's 'date'." Simon warned Alvin, making sure to keep his voice down. "Concentrate on your own date."

Alvin looked in Brittany's direction, and saw that she was stood on her own; looking at some movie posters. He quickly dashed over to her to give her some company.

Simon smiled at this; everything was going great so far; thanks to his prompting and cautioning. Jeanette scooted up next to Simon; curious about what he had said to his brother.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"Just keeping Alvin in line, and trying to stop him from ruining Dave's date." Simon replied making sure to keep his voice down.

"Well, it seems to be working." Jeanette replied.

"We have to sit through a couple of hours of a movie now though." Simon pointed out.

"It could be interesting." Jeanette reasoned, "Besides, we have each other's company."

"You're right." Simon said happily, looking at the positives.

Claire crouched down to their level and glanced over her shoulder in Alvin and Brittany's direction.

"Is Alvin trying to set me up with Dave?" Claire asked the two of them.

"I guess you noticed." Jeanette replied.

"Alvin's always meddling in Dave's private life." Simon added. "Try to ignore him."

"It's okay; I'm getting to see the real Alvin." Claire replied.

"'Real Alvin'?" Jeanette asked.

"Yeah, I'm covering your progress in the competition for the local paper." Claire explained.

"And that's why you are meeting up with Dave?" Simon quizzed.

"Plus, I haven't seen him for a while, so I thought we should catch up." Claire added.

"So it's not all business?" Simon questioned.

"We're still friends." Claire pointed out. "Friends go out places together."

"I guess so." Simon replied.

"So, how about you two?" Claire asked. "Are you in a relationship?"

Jeanette blushed and shuffled her feet before looking across to Simon for his reaction. Simon reacted in a similar manner and looked across at Jeanette.

"Well, I guess." Simon answered.

"But not really that serious." Jeanette added.

"But we are really good friends." Simon continued.

"Just not too intimately, that's all." Jeanette pointed out.

"Well that's good to hear; you two sound like you understand each other." Claire commented. "And it's good that you aren't rushing into things; I guess that's where Dave and I went wrong."

"How?" Jeanette questioned.

Just then Dave returned with a huge bucket of popcorn in his hands, and Theodore and Eleanor following closely behind.

"Okay, we're ready." Dave said.

"Us too." Claire replied looking down at Simon and Jeanette.

"Let's go guys." Dave called to Alvin and Brittany as the group made their way to screen six.

They entered the room and took their seats with just minutes to spare. Dave and Claire were sat side by side; with Theodore and Eleanor sharing the next seat with their bucket of popcorn. Simon and Jeanette were sat on the opposite side of Dave; a strategic move to keep Alvin as far away from Dave as possible. Brittany was sharing a seat with Alvin, and to make things a lot easier, Dave had gotten them all front row seats for easy viewing.

The room settled down into a silence of sorts and the movie began. The only truly excited member of the group was Alvin who could barely contain himself; he had seen the other movies in the series and was looking forward to seeing the next.

The movies main body was action in the form of street racing, and there was enough content to keep them all interested. Alvin was engrossed in the on-screen action, while Brittany wasn't nearly as entertained. Simon and Jeanette were finding it interesting and were learning a little about the mechanics of a car as they watched. Theodore and Eleanor were not paying as much attention to the movie as the others; they had their bucket of popcorn that they were sharing. While Dave and Claire were enjoying the film or maybe it was the fact that they were enjoying each other's company.

The movie continued and at one point there was an exploding car; catching the viewers off-guard. Brittany was scared by the explosion and grabbed Alvin's arm out of reactions. Alvin smiled back at her and winked; Brittany let go and acted as if she hadn't been scared by the noise; not wanting to look weak. Simon and Jeanette both jumped at hearing the explosion and held each other's hand. Theodore and Eleanor had hardly noticed the exploding car, as they were still eating popcorn. Dave and Claire were also scared by the noise; Claire grabbed Dave's arm as the two of them continued to watch the movie. Claire looked across to Dave as she let go of his arm. Dave smiled back happily; he remembered something similar happening like this back when they were dating.

The movie came to an end and they all left the movie theatre; heading back through the parking lot to Dave's car.

"That was so awesome." Alvin said.

"I wouldn't go as far as awesome." Brittany replied.

"It was good but it wasn't great." Simon commented.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Alvin replied.

"The movie was pretty good." Dave admitted. "I don't usually like those types of movies."

"It was pretty action filled." Claire added.

"Yeah; the best kind of movie." Alvin continued.

They all got into the car and Dave drove Claire home. All the chipmunks were now looking tired; Theodore and Eleanor were drifting off to sleep. The others were sleepy but managing to stay awake.

"Well, this is my stop." Claire said as Dave stopped the car outside her house. "I had a great time tonight."

"Me too." Dave replied.

The two of them stared into each other's eyes for a couple of seconds, before breaking off and composing themselves.

"Um…I'll call you next time we have time to meet up." Dave said.

"Okay, night." Claire said getting out of the car.

"Bye Claire." Dave said as she walked up the path to her front door.

Claire waved them goodbye as Dave drove the car away; heading for home. The night had been a fun one and everyone had thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

"You were so close Dave, so close." Alvin teased.

"Alvin!" Dave yelled, losing his patients and waking up the others.

Alvin began laughing his head off; he just couldn't resist.

* * *

**Next up, training for the next round of the competition, all hope lies on Alvin as he is the only one who knows how to play video games well enough to stop the jocks.**


	25. Level 1

**After the fun night out the Chipmunks and Chipettes had, they now have to focus back on the competition and start their training.**

**Hopefully Alvin will live up to the others' expectations and work his hardest to help them win the next round.**

* * *

The chipmunks and chipettes were enjoying a lie in after a fun Friday night out. But their lie in was interrupted and somewhat cut short by the noise of car engines. They stirred from their slumber as it was almost impossible to sleep through the noise. Simon sat up in bed and put his glasses on in order to check the clock.

"8:15." Simon announced.

Brittany looked across to see that Alvin's bed was empty; this immediately led her to the conclusion that he was the one making the noise.

"What's that racket?" Eleanor said as she sat up in bed; unable to get back to sleep.

"It sounds like a V8." Simon pointed out.

Brittany frowned at him; not caring about what the noise was, just where it was coming from. Not to mention how grumpy she was from being woken up involuntarily, this was a key factor.

"At least I learnt something from that movie." Simon said.

"Well, I have a good idea who is making that noise." Brittany said.

"Alvin?" Jeanette replied.

"Alvin." Simon answered.

"He's cutting short my beauty sleep." Brittany said getting out of bed. "As soon as I've done my hair and gotten changed, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."

"Sounds like trouble." Eleanor commented.

Brittany marched out of the bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom.

"What's going on?" Theodore asked, having somehow slept through all the commotion and just woken up.

In the living room, Alvin is playing video games on the television with the volume up fairly loud. He was playing a racing game after being hooked by the movie they had watched last night. He was up bright and early in an attempt to get in as much practise as possible. He now had his game face on and was concentrating on winning the race. He was so focused that he did not notice that Dave had shuffled into the living room, half asleep, and was stood right next to him.

"Thanks for the wakeup call." Dave said grumpily.

Alvin did not reply as he was too focused on the game; it was taking all his concentration. Dave sighed and headed over to the kitchen to get some breakfast.

"You could at least turn the volume down; you'll wake the others." Dave warned.

Still no reply; Dave gave up and went to make his breakfast. He came back into the living room a few minutes later, with some toast, and sat down on the sofa.

By this time the noise had died down, as Alvin had finished the race. Dave grabbed the television controller and turned the volume down to a tolerable level.

"Have you had breakfast?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, ages ago." Alvin replied.

"The others aren't going to be happy if you've woken them up, you know?" Dave said.

"Well they shouldn't be sleeping in; there's training to be done." Alvin answered.

Dave sighed at Alvin's stubborn reaction; he wasn't going to be able to reason with him, but someone else was.

"It's a weekend, you know." Brittany said sounding annoyed, after overhearing Alvin's comment.

"I'm training for the competition." Alvin replied.

"And I was trying to get some beauty sleep." Brittany answered back.

"Well, you ne…" Alvin began before being interrupted.

"Don't even bother; that joke's getting old." Brittany interrupted grumpily before making her way to the kitchen.

"I told you they wouldn't be happy." Dave pointed out.

Alvin ignored all the commotion and went back to playing the video game. Soon after, the others emerged from the bedroom looking tired, and made their way into the living room.

"What's the big idea of waking us up with that video game?" Simon said.

"I've turned it down." Alvin replied as he continued to concentrate on the next race.

"Too little, too late." Simon said before heading to the kitchen.

Seeing that everyone was now up, Dave decided to go and make them all breakfast; in an attempt to lighten the mood a little.

"It was a bit thoughtless," Jeanette commented before going to the breakfast table.

"What are you playing?" Theodore asked, still half asleep.

Eleanor dragged him away, leaving Alvin to play his video game in peace; not that he had noticed.

The five of them, plus Dave, all still looked tired from their early wakeup call. Brittany was looking grumpy and in the mood to take no prisoners. Alvin's thoughtless actions had put Brittany in a bad mood; setting her up for the day. Dave was noticing that each one of the chipmunks and chipettes were looking annoyed or ticked off, and was quick to jump in and reason with them.

"Listen guys, I know you're all angry at Alvin for waking you up." Dave said. "But, cut him some slack. He woke up early and thought he'd get a head start on the training; he didn't mean to wake you."

"Yeah, well it was still inconsiderate." Brittany replied.

"Granted, it was a bad move, but his intentions were good." Dave reasoned.

"I guess so." Eleanor commented.

"We do have to start training." Theodore added.

"Yeah, and Alvin was just trying to use as much of his spare time as possible to get in some practise." Dave continued. "He's nervous about performing in the next round; you can't blame him for that."

"Plus, he is going to train us at playing video games." Jeanette pointed.

"So don't go too hard on him, that's all I'm saying." Dave said.

"Point taken." Simon replied.

The six of them continued with breakfast, while Alvin was hard at work trying to improve his video game techniques. Brittany was not buying into Dave's reasoning for Alvin's wakeup call, and wasn't going to just forget about it like that. She had missed out on her sleep and that had put her in a grumpy mood for the rest of the morning.

Once they had all done eating, they returned to see what Alvin was up to. No surprise he was still playing his racing game and didn't appear to have moved an inch since the last time they had looked. His concentration was intense; it wasn't evident whether he knew they were all there or not. After watching the video game for a couple of minutes, the others began to become bored.

Simon had had enough waiting and decided to go and do his own thing, heading in the direction of the computer. Brittany saw that Alvin was deep in concentration and decided to get her revenge for the early wakeup call; with a wakeup call of her own. She walked over to Alvin and stood behind him; he still did not moved or even acknowledge that he knew she was there.

"Wake up!" Brittany yelled down his ear before walking calmly away.

Alvin felt the full force of Brittany's voice and it threw his concentration off completely; causing him to lose control of the video game. He turned round with a frown on his face and looked Brittany straight in the eyes.

"Revenge." She said grinning back and winked at him.

Brittany headed off out of the living room after this as she was bored and didn't feel like watching Alvin play video games all morning. Eleanor decided to follow her sister, as she was bored as well and thought that Brittany might want some company.

"I'm gonna go get some rest." Brittany said as she headed for the bedroom.

"Have fun training." Eleanor added following her sister.

This just left Jeanette and Theodore waiting patiently for Alvin's training to begin. Sure enough, Alvin continued and finished the race he was in and turned around to find that the two of them were waiting for him.

"Oh; ready to learn the art of video gaming?" Alvin asked.

"Yeah." Theodore replied.

"Sure." Jeanette answered.

"Okay, but before you play; you need to know what is required to play well." Alvin explained.

"Required?" Jeanette questioned.

"Playing video games isn't just about pressing buttons," Alvin pointed out.

"It's not?" Theodore asked.

"No; lightning reflexes and quick thinking are essential." Alvin said.

"Okay." Jeanette replied.

"So, I'm going to train you both to sharpen your gaming senses." Alvin said.

He picked up a controller and handed it to Theodore.

"First things first, I need to know how good you are." Alvin said.

He set up a video game in the console and started it up; it was a fighting game. Alvin picked up a second controller and began the game by choosing the required settings, for his training to begin. He set up a tag-team battle with himself and Theodore on the same team; in an effort to lend all the support he could in-game. Jeanette watched on as the game began, Alvin and Theodore started playing at a slow pace. The game was set at a very easy difficulty level to allow Alvin to show Theodore the ropes at the same time as acquiring experience.

Alvin was offering as much support and encouragement as possible; but Theodore was still struggling with the controls of the game. This gave Jeanette an idea; not wanting to waste any time, she acquired the instruction booklet of the game that the guys were playing. Using her head, Jeanette began to read through it to get a better knowledge of the game, and to learn all of the controls that were necessary when playing.

Whilst Jeanette was reading the booklet, Alvin and Theodore continued to play the game with some moderate success. Theodore was now getting to grips with the controls and in no time at all the two of them won a round; mostly thanks to Alvin, but Theodore chipped in.

Ten minutes had now passed and Alvin had gotten a good idea of how good, or bad, Theodore was.

"Okay Jen, your turn." Alvin said as he passed her one of the controllers.

"I'll try my best." Jeanette replied.

She dropped the instruction booklet and took the video game controller. Alvin started the game once again but with Jeanette taking Theodore's place. Jeanette had admitted to being a complete novice, in the press conference they had the previous afternoon; so Alvin didn't know what to expect.

At first Jeanette was slow to press the buttons, but after a couple of minutes she had familiarised herself with the controller and was playing like a pro. Alvin was impressed and, after the two of them had won two rounds in a row, he decided to turn the difficulty level up slightly. The two of them played another round and struggled, but still managed to win again. After seeing that Jeanette was competent and in control of the video game, Alvin decided to let Theodore take his place. Jeanette and Theodore played on the same team, forming a good in-game partnership. Alvin watched on as the two of them became progressively better at the game; Jeanette noticeably so. She was a natural and was guiding Theodore through the challenge; improving his game at the same time as her own. Alvin let the two of them continue at their own pace; chipping in with some helpful advice when needed as he supervised their progress.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Brittany and Eleanor were chilling out together. Well, Eleanor was trying to but Brittany was still in a grumpy mood; and was not giving her sister a moment of peace.

"Sometimes I just don't know what, if anything goes on in his head." Brittany said. "I know he can be stubborn and he puts himself first a lot of the time, but surely he would have considered that we were still sleeping."

"Maybe it was just a mistake; I mean he didn't wake us up on purpose." Eleanor said.

"I wouldn't put it past him; I've been victim to Alvin's pranks enough times to know." Brittany replied.

"Why does Alvin always pull tricks on you?" Eleanor probed.

"I really don't know, it really frustrates me; sometimes I think he just doesn't like me that much. I mean why would he pull such horrible pranks on me?" Brittany contemplated, remembering the last prank that she had been subject to.

"Well, maybe it's his way of expressing that he likes you." Eleanor suggested; looking on the bright side.

"That's a strange way to express feelings you have for someone, but this is Alvin we're talking about." Brittany said.

"Think about it; Alvin only pulls pranks on you. He doesn't bother with me or Jeanette." Eleanor pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess, but why would he pull pranks on you two anyway; you have Simon and Theodore by your sides." Brittany said. "You already have boyfriends; so he's focusing on me."

"Well, I wouldn't say that Theo and I were boyfriend and girlfriend. We're good friends for sure, but not at that stage yet." Eleanor corrected.

"I got the impression that you were." Brittany said.

"How come?" Eleanor asked.

"Well, you're always hugging, and you hold hands," Brittany pointed out.

"Only because we're close friends." Eleanor reassured.

"It must be nice to have a stable relationship that's steady going." Brittany said.

"What about you and Alvin?" Eleanor replied changing the subject.

"We are a couple, but he doesn't treat me with the proper respect." Brittany said.

"He can be a bit of a handful; but you two make a great couple." Eleanor assured.

"Speaking of couples; you and Theodore ought to become boyfriend and girlfriend." Brittany suggested.

"Why?" Eleanor questioned.

"It's just that Theodore _is_ a member of The Chipmunks after all. He'd be a prime target if anyone realised he was still single." Brittany explained.

This gave Eleanor something to contemplate; she drifted off into a deep trail of thought. She had noticed that Theodore and Emily were becoming friendly at school. Maybe Emily was trying to gain his trust and friendship; then make her move. But even if she did, Theodore surely wouldn't go along with it. Although, Theodore is a little naïve and can be influenced if persuaded in the right way. But Theodore was her closest friend and that had to count for something.

While all these thoughts were preoccupying Eleanor's mind; she was spaced out and lay on the edge of her bed. Brittany had noticed that Eleanor was deep in thought and knew that something was up; it wasn't often that she spaced out like that.

"Elle?" Brittany asked; snapping her sister out of her daydreaming.

"What?" Eleanor asked curiously.

"Was it something I said?" Brittany asked.

"Huh?" Eleanor said slightly confused.

"You were daydreaming; what's up?" Brittany replied. "Is it about you and Theodore?"

"Maybe; if you're right, do you think Theo would ditch me for Emily?" Eleanor asked.

"Why so specific? Is Emily making a move on Theodore?" Brittany asked becoming interested.

"No, but I'm afraid if she does that Theo will fall for her." Eleanor revealed.

"Why would he; you're all that he will ever want or need." Brittany said.

"You really think so?" Eleanor replied.

"I'm sure of it." Brittany answered.

"Thanks Britt." Eleanor replied.

She got up off her bed and jumped down to give her sister a hug. Just as they began their embrace, Dave called through to them that their lunches were ready.

The six of them all joined Dave at the table for lunch; which did not last very long. No sooner had Alvin, Jeanette and Theodore sat down for lunch; they had finished and left the table. The video games certainly hadn't affected their appetites. The others took their time eating, before going back to what they were doing beforehand.

Alvin, Jeanette and Theodore continued to train straight after lunch, and were passed by Dave who was on his way to the music room. He stopped before he reached the exit of the living room, and decided to caution Alvin in case he went over the top like he had done before.

"Be careful what you're doing with that thing." Dave warned. "Remember what happened last time?"

"Relax, we aren't throwing anything." Alvin assured.

"Good; because I'm not planning on buying a new television." Dave replied.

Dave walked away after this brief discussion; heading for the music room to continue with the organisation of the tour of England. As soon as Dave had left the room and was out of earshot, Jeanette questioned Alvin out of curiosity.

"'Last time'?" Jeanette asked.

"Alvin and toby were playing a bowling game, and Alvin let go of the controller." Theodore explained.

"We needed a new TV anyway." Alvin pointed out.

"It sounds kind of dangerous." Jeanette commented.

"Nah, it's perfectly safe." Alvin reassured.

"As long as you're not bowling." Theodore added.

"We're not going to be bowling, are we?" Jeanette asked nervously.

"Don't worry, we don't need to practise on that game." Alvin reassured, as he changed the game disc in the console.

The three of them played a shooting game; Alvin filling in for either of them when they wanted a break. After all, it was about training Jeanette and Theodore. Throughout the afternoon, the three continued to play the action RPG/first person shooter, and were gaining crucial understanding and experience.

Later on in the afternoon, Simon returned to the living room to check up on Jeanette. He sat down on the sofa and read a book he had brought with him. Shortly after he had sat down, Jeanette noticed that he had come to see how she was doing, and so she decided to take a short break from the gaming. Jeanette left Alvin and Theodore to continue playing the video game, while she sat down beside Simon to see what he was up to. She caught his attention as she sat down, prompting him to put his book down.

"How's Alvin's training going? Taught you anything useful yet?" Simon quizzed.

"Well, I feel like I know what I'm doing." Jeanette replied.

"So he's taught you how to play, but none of the methods behind gaming." Simon summed up.

"We're doing fine." Jeanette said, realising that Simon was putting Alvin down. "Alvin's putting in a lot of effort to train us."

"I'm just saying that Alvin's approach to playing video games is to go in all guns blazing." Simon explained.

"Well it seems to be working." Jeanette replied.

"Yeah, but only in the genres of games that you have been playing." Simon continued. "That technique sure doesn't work for strategy based games or even racing games."

"Well what do you suggest?" Jeanette asked.

"Foresight is the key to winning at any video game; anticipation of opponents' moves can change the course of any game." Simon pointed out.

"Really? How come you're an expert all of a sudden?" Jeanette questioned.

"I do play video games, you know? Just not the types that Alvin does; I prefer the strategic genre that involves in depth thinking." Simon replied.

"Hi guys." Eleanor greeted, as she entered the living room with Brittany.

"How's your training going?" Brittany asked. "Alvin's not being too bossy, is he?"

"No, training has been going great." Jeanette answered.

"Good, we need to win the next round." Brittany replied.

Alvin noticed that Jeanette was being interrogated about how training was going, and decided that he should be answering the questions. He signalled to Jeanette to swap with him, before leaving his post and meeting up with the others. Jeanette escaped the interrogation and returned to training with Theodore.

"Come to observe my expert training?" Alvin asked.

"Expert?" Brittany questioned.

"Well, I'm better than you guys." Alvin pointed out defensively.

After receiving the remark from Brittany, he picked up on the vibe that she was still annoyed with him. In a quick move, Alvin switched from his boastful style of conversing to a more conservative one; hopefully quelling Brittany's annoyance.

"That's questionable." Simon replied.

"C'mon, I'm the only one who could be picked for the event; and I'm doing the best I can." Alvin said pleading his innocence for his earlier remark.

Brittany saw this honesty and her annoyance petered out; Alvin was trying his hardest to help the team and the last thing he needed was people on his case.

"Besides, I'm seeing some progress with the two of them." Alvin added, pointing out the evidence; as Jeanette and Theodore continued playing.

"That's good to hear," Brittany replied, reinforcing Alvin's effort.

"So, is Theo doing okay?" Eleanor asked curiously.

"He's getting there; he just needs a bit more practise." Alvin replied.

"And Jeanette?" Simon asked.

"She has a lot of potential." Alvin replied. "But like with Theo; she still needs more training."

"I hope you can get them up to a high enough level; the jocks will be tough to beat." Brittany said.

"And we can't afford to lose the next round." Simon reminded.

"Don't worry guys." Eleanor said. "We can win."

"Yeah, plus we have the rest of today and tomorrow to get ready." Alvin pointed out.

Soon enough, Dave called the six of them for dinner; putting training on hold. They all rushed to the table, starving; as dinner was rather late. Dave must have been really busy in the music room organising their tour of England; he's usually on time when it comes to making meals. As soon as Alvin sat down at the table, he started to chow down at a quick pace. Dave noticed this and could tell that he was eager to get back to the training.

"Take it easy Alvin," Dave said. "You'll get indigestion."

"Your food isn't going anywhere, you know?" Brittany added.

"Listen guys, you've spent a lot of the day playing that video game, and you don't want to overdo it." Dave explained. "So I think you should give it a rest for today."

"But…" Alvin began protesting, temporarily stopping eating.

"No but's; you can get eye strain from video games, so you should take a break." Dave ordered.

This made Alvin a little moody; he was trying to train them as best he could but was being limited by time.

They all finished their late dinner and relaxed around the house; Dave had banned them from using the video game for the remainder of the day, and so they had to go further afield for entertainment. Seeing that this was the case, Jeanette decided to make use of the time by using the computer and looking up stuff about video games. It took her a long time to find anything relevant, and when she did find something it wasn't really helpful.

"What're you up to?" Simon asked as he jumped up onto the desk.

"I'm looking for something useful to help my training." Jeanette replied.

"Any luck?" Simon asked.

"No; nothing useful." She replied.

"Well, I think the best thing to do is to take my earlier advice, and anticipate." Simon suggested.

"I tried and it helped, but I need to develop my technique." She explained.

"I meant about the next round of the competition." Simon said expanding on his earlier suggestion. "If you know what's coming, you can prepare for it."

"Of course, but how do we know what's coming?" Jeanette pondered.

"Well, the round will feature a multi-player format for six players." Simon highlighted.

"And it won't be a shooting game because of the age ratings." Jeanette continued.

The two of them thought for a few seconds before coming up with a conclusion to the dilemma.

"A racing game." Simon and Jeanette said in unison.

"So I should focus on racing games." Jeanette confirmed.

"It's a sure fire way to boost your chances of winning." Simon agreed.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Dave was sat with the others watching the news. He was relaxing after a long day's work and had allowed them to at least watch the television. After a couple of minutes, the pre-match press conference was shown on the channel. It showed the entire question and answer session; and by the time it had finished Alvin was fired up.

"We're gonna beat those jocks." Alvin said confidently.

"I hope so." Dave said.

"But we need more training." Alvin added.

"Calm down; you have all of tomorrow to train," Dave replied, "And speaking of tomorrow; I think it's about time for bed."

Dave turned off the television and directed them towards the bedroom. Simon and Jeanette overheard the others making their ways to bed and decided to finish what they were doing and join them. While they were getting ready for bed, Simon and Jeanette filled the others in on their conclusion of the research they had done. This gave Alvin an idea of the plan of attack for Sunday's training.

The six of them went to sleep, resting up for a hard day's training; with the emphasis on car racing games. Although the team have their work cut out for them, they are still working to get as much of an advantage as possible ahead of a tough third round clash.

* * *

**The rest of the weekend will be full of hard work and training as the Chipmunk team look ahead to the video games round against the jocks.**

**Good luck Alvin.**

**Thanks for reading :)**


	26. Driven to Distraction

**The fourth round of the competition is finally here and it is one of the key rounds; as it can give the winning team the huge advantage of a 2-1 lead, with three being enough to force a tie-break after the sixth round. Can Alvin lead the Chipmunks' team to victory?**

* * *

The Chipmunks wake up to a challenge filled Monday, school as usual, followed by the date with destiny that is the third round. A win for either team would swing the competition in their favour, but Alvin was determined to make sure that his team was going to win. He jumped out of bed all fired up after a successful day of training on Sunday.

The team had spent the entire Sunday practising playing racing games and preparing their strategy. Car control and racing lines were top of the strategic list and were the focus of their extensive training the previous day. Now that the time had come, Alvin was first out of bed and off into the bathroom before the others had even gotten out of bed.

The emotions and feelings of the team as a whole were contrasting and ranged from one end of the spectrum to the other. This was evident once the six of them were all together at the table for breakfast with Dave.

"I'm so psyched." Alvin said. "We are so gonna beat those Jocks."

"Good, I'm glad to hear that you're confident." Dave replied.

"Well, you're the only one." Simon pointed out.

Jeanette and Theodore did not look confident at all and certainly weren't as enthusiastic about the next round as Alvin. The nerves must have been getting to the two of them, as Theodore hadn't eaten all of his breakfast. When Theodore's appetite is affected, he is definitely worried about something.

"Come on guys," Brittany said trying to stoke them up.

"It's natural to be nervous." Dave reassured the two of them.

"There's nothing to be nervous about; we'll win; the Jocks are no match for us." Alvin added; his confidence overflowing.

"Alvin's right; you'll do great." Brittany said, trying to relax them.

"Besides, if you don't win it doesn't matter." Dave assured them. "We'll still be in the competition. Plus we'll still have the cooking and countdown rounds to win."

"When you put it that way, it doesn't seem too bad." Jeanette agreed.

"Yeah, it _is_ a team effort; so if we can't win, you guys can cover us." Theodore added.

"Pressure's off; just do your best." Eleanor said.

With that the six of them left the table and went to get ready for school. All of them were feeling more up for the challenge after the morale boosting and spirit lifting team talk at the breakfast table. Once at school, Jeanette and Theodore's minds were preoccupied with school work and taken off the competition. This boded well for the team as the less they thought about the next round the less they worried about it.

With the team keeping their heads down and staying out of trouble; they safely avoided meeting the jocks, and the day passed quickly and fairly uneventfully. As preparation for the video games round after school; the six of them had briefly discussed their strategy at break and lunch. Spending enough time talking about it to refresh their memory's and iron out any queries, but not so long that they would start to concern themselves again.

The school bell finally rang, after a long and tedious day; not helped by the fact that the competition lingered over them. In their usual tradition, the six of them all met up at their lockers after school to dispose of their unneeded equipment and to have a team talk before the event.

"Take it easy and keep a cool head, guys." Simon said as he shut his locker.

"It'll be the key to victory." Brittany agreed.

"The pressure is off; just do your best, that's all you can do." Eleanor assured.

"Thanks Elle." Theodore replied.

The six of them headed for the gymnasium with Alvin upfront at the head of the pack; his confidence helping them to get through the nerve racking moment.

"Here we are." Alvin announced as they arrived at the gymnasium.

Alvin walked around the corner and stopped in his tracks at the entrance of the gymnasium. The others almost walked into him; wondering why he had stopped. They soon realised why when they observed the transformation that the gymnasium had undergone to stage the video game round.

There were large screens on one wall, with huge spectator stands facing them; capable of holding close to a thousand people. Half of them were already full and the audience that were present were already watching the big screens in anticipation. The teams would be sat at two separate stations of consoles. Each station featured flat screen televisions to play on; one for each competitor to use.

As soon as the chipmunk team stepped into the gymnasium come gaming arena, the cameras all focused in their direction and the six of them got to see themselves on one of the big screens. This will have considerably added to the nerves that they were experiencing and not helped them in the slightest. Alvin relatively unfazed by the attention and with a sparkle in his eye; confidently led the team over to their specified bench. Dave was not there yet so Alvin, being the team captain, decided to take the reins.

"Okay, we're here before the Jocks so we have plenty of time." Alvin said.

"Use it to get used to your surroundings and the atmosphere." Simon added.

"Don't let the occasion get to you." Brittany said.

"The Jocks will be under just as much pressure as you guys." Eleanor pointed out helpfully.

"Thanks guys." Alvin replied, appreciating how supportive they were being. "Now let's go get changed."

Alvin led Jeanette and Theodore to the changing rooms just as the Jocks arrived on the scene. This worked out perfectly, as the chipmunk team were out of harm's way and the Jocks were now the main focus of attention. They entered into the gaming arena under a hostile reception from the spectators; seemingly favouring the chipmunk team.

"At least the audience is on our side." Simon said.

"Hopefully it will work against the jocks." Brittany added.

The Jocks walked past the chipmunk team's bench and their place on their own bench. Ryan was glaring over at the three of them; intimidating and unnerving them. The three of them looked at one another, wondering if Dave was ever going to turn up. They felt insecure; not being escorted by Dave, as he had been with them all the time. After a minute of putting up with Ryan and the Jocks' evil looks, Brittany, Simon and Eleanor were joined by a familiar face.

"Hi guys." Claire greeted as she walked up to the team bench.

"Hi Claire." Eleanor replied.

"Boy, are we glad to see you." Simon added.

"I thought so; they looked to be giving you some dirty looks, so I thought I'd give you some company until Dave arrives." Claire explained.

"Thanks." Brittany replied.

Just at that moment the crowd began to clap and cheer, as Alvin, Jeanette and Theodore emerged from the changing rooms in their competition wear, and headed over to the team bench.

"Wow, those outfits are great." Claire said as she watched the three of them approach.

"Dave got them for us." Eleanor said.

"They're really smart; do you mind if I take a couple of pictures of you all?" Claire asked.

"Sure." Dave answered, arriving on the last minute and sounding out of breath.

"Dave, where have you been?" Claire asked.

"Behind the scenes." Dave replied

"Dave, you finally made it, and you brought Claire with you." Alvin joked, as the three of them jumped up onto the team bench.

"I was back stage." Dave replied; correcting Alvin's assumption.

"I'm here as part of the press," Claire explained. "So, how about those pictures?"

"Sure thing." Alvin replied, striking a cool pose.

"Not just you, Alvin." Dave said.

The others all joined him and Claire took a couple of snapshots of the six of them, with Dave behind.

"Why are you in the picture?" Alvin asked Dave; teasing him once again.

"Hey, I'm the team manager." Dave replied.

"It works for me." Claire commented.

"Lucky you, Dave." Alvin added.

Dave frowned at him as they finished the mini photo-shoot and turned their attention back to the competition. Dr Rubin had now arrived and was ready to introduce the next round of the competition.

"I'd better get going, thanks guys." Claire said as she left them.

"Don't mention it," Dave replied.

"See you in the winner's circle." Alvin added.

Dr Rubin had now gotten everyone's attention and began to explain the format of the event.

"The six competitors will compete simultaneously on the video game and will be given points in correspondence with the position that they finish in after each round. As you may have already worked out by now; the game that is going to be played is a racing game. To be more specific; the game that the teams will compete on is GT5. The points will be awarded after each round as follows; 1st gets 10 points, 2nd gets 8 points, 3rd gets 6 points, 4th gets 4, 5th gets 2, and 6th gets just 1 point. There will be a total of four rounds and there will be a five minute break between each. The final standings of points will determine which team wins the event. So, without further ado, let the games begin." Dr Rubin announced.

The chipmunk team took their places, as did the Jock team, and readied themselves for the first race. The set up that they had to go through before the first race was to select the car that they wanted to use, and to set it up however they liked. This was where Jeanette's extensive research and understanding of the area would pay off; as she altered the suspension and transmission of the Toyota Supra RZ she had chosen. Alvin went for his obvious choice, the Ford Mustang; the more power the better. Theodore was a little uncertain in choosing his car and took a while before deciding on a Nissan Skyline GT-R. These cars were locked in and could not be changed between rounds. The only alterations allowed would be tire changes and car settings; leaving Jeanette with a lot of options.

As soon as the first race was chosen on the game, the line-up of cars and their drivers were displayed on the screen. The first circuit would be Monza, located in Italy, a track that featured a lot of straights; promoting top speed and acceleration.

Jeanette and Theodore were at a slight disadvantage, as their cars were suited to cornering. Alvin on the other hand, had a car that would eat up road in a straight line; giving him the upper hand. Although they all had the option of setting up their cars to tackle the track, it would not help them enough to make their cars quicker around the circuit.

Jeanette was a little worried once she had seen the line-up of the Jocks' cars; they were good selections for the 3 lap race of Monza. Kevin had opted for the Nissan GT-R SpecV; an all-round driving machine, capable of running the circuit with ease. Xander had chosen a Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR; which would be formidable on the straights. Ryan had made a similar choice to Alvin and had chosen raw power over any other factor, with a Dodge Challenger SRT8; another drag racing machine.

The odds didn't look good, but there was a little comfort when the cars were given their grid positions. Kevin was positioned at the front with Alvin alongside in second; Jeanette was starting third with Theodore in fourth, and finally on the back row were Ryan and Xander in fifth and sixth respectively.

The audience watched these events unfold on the big screens and the atmosphere started to become tense in anticipation of the start. The Jocks looked fairly relaxed as they prepared for the start; especially Kevin who seemingly had the best car and the best position.

"Come on guys." Alvin encouraged. "You're starting ahead of Ryan and Xander; make sure you keep it that way."

"We'll try our best," Jeanette replied.

"Just try to remember the racing moves we practised." Alvin reminded.

With the team talk over, Dr Rubin checked that both teams were ready before starting the first race. The big screens were showing the main action of the race, and panned out to show the six cars on the starting grid with the red lights in front of them. The race would begin once the start lights went out; from a standing start it was crucial that they got off the line well. Slowly the lights went out and the race was underway as the last one disappeared.

As expected Kevin got a great start and immediately slotted in front of Alvin; taking the racing line. Jeanette and Theodore both had decent starts as well; their cars being very good at gripping the track from off of the grid. Xander and Ryan didn't get the greatest of launches but managed to catch up to the pack by the time they reached the first chicane. Kevin was first into the corner and made sure to slow down on the racing line; bunching the cars up. As soon as he had gotten the car straight, Kevin accelerated out of the corner hard leaving the others a fair distance behind. Alvin attempted to keep up but could not put the power down and lost traction. The two Jocks at the back of the pack had the same problem as they attempted to overtake Theodore on the exit of the chicane; no traction to use their power.

By the mid-point of the first lap; Kevin had pulled out a six second lead over Alvin, who had started to edge away from the others. Jeanette and Theodore were in a heated battle with Ryan and Xander; trying to stop them from getting by. Unfortunately the cars then reached the first of two long straights on the track. This gave Ryan and Xander the advantage, as they had superior engine power. The two of them passed Theodore's Nissan Skyline on either side and honed in on Jeanette's Toyota Supra. She was caught up by the two Jocks but managed to get away as they entered a tight right hand turn. Ryan and Xander lost valuable time by going off the racing line through the corner.

Despite this mistake, Ryan and Xander both passed Jeanette and took third and fourth position. As all the cars had completed the first lap, the split times were displayed on the big screens for the spectators to see. 1st Kevin, 2nd Alvin +0:08, 3rd Xander +0:15, 4th Ryan +0:16, 5th Jeanette +0:18, 6th Theodore +0:24.

From there on in the race was effectively over unless someone made a mistake. But unfortunately the Jocks kept their cool and got to the end of the second lap without incident. The split times then read the same order as the first lap, except the Jocks were all lapping faster than the Chipmunks. Kevin had pulled out a substantial lead over Alvin, plus Ryan and Xander were closing in fast.

The end of the race did not throw up any surprises, as the six of them finished in the same order as the previous lap. The split times were again displayed for all to see on the big screens; showing Kevin as the runaway winner. 1st Kevin, 2nd Alvin +0:20, 3rd Xander +0:24, 4th Ryan +0:27, 5th Jeanette +0:35, 6th Theodore +0:45. The first round result told a story; the Chipmunk team were lacking pace.

As soon as the first race was over and the five minute break began, the chipmunk team made their way to the bench. They needed a plan for the next race, and it had to be a good one. Whilst the two teams were making for the benches, the points were tallied up and displayed. Kevin on 10, Alvin on 8, Xander on 6, Ryan on 4, Jeanette on 2, and Theodore on 1; leaving the first race scores at; Jocks: 20 points, Chipmunks: 11 points. Highlighting the severity of the situation once again.

"Chin up guys." Dave encouraged.

"Yeah; it was a bad track," Simon added.

"The next will be better." Brittany reassured.

"You just need to work as a team." Eleanor suggested.

"You're right." Theodore agreed.

"We need to plan a strategy for the next race." Alvin said.

"Well, Ryan and Xander seem to be struggling when cornering their cars." Jeanette pointed out.

"So we should use that to our advantage." Simon suggested.

Their discussion was interrupted by an announcement from Dr Rubin; giving them a chance to calm down.

"I will now select the next circuit at random," Dr Rubin announced, pressing a button on a controller.

The tracks were shuffled through at random on the big screen, and then it slowly stopped on the next circuit. The next race track was decided, and would take place at the Laguna Seca Raceway, USA. The chipmunk team then continued with their team talk, with just two minutes left on the clock.

"Okay guys; I know this circuit has a lot of tricky corners." Simon said.

"So we need to follow the racing line carefully." Jeanette added.

"We can overtake the Jocks on the corners." Alvin said confidently.

"Look out for each other." Eleanor reminded.

"One minute, guys." Dave warned, watching the clock.

"Don't worry, we will." Jeanette assured Eleanor, before the three of them left the team bench and returned to their stations.

The countdown reached zero and the grid positions were decided; 1st Alvin, 2nd Ryan, 3rd Theodore, 4th Kevin, 5th Xander, and 6th Jeanette. Strategically, Alvin and Theodore had good positions on the grid; able to take the inside line on the first corner.

The red start lights all went out, signalling the start of the race; and the cars were away. The start of the circuit was a very narrow left hand bend, letting Alvin squeeze Ryan's Dodge Challenger wide and then take the lead. Theodore followed Alvin with a good start, managing to draw level with Ryan through the first sharp corner. Kevin was quick to set off but was blocked by Ryan's Dodge Challenger that was hogging the faster outside line. From the start, in a bold move, Jeanette had made up the distance to Xander's Dodge Viper and had managed to pull slightly ahead around the downhill left hand turn; following Kevin. There was then a tight tussle for the racing line, with plenty of the cars trading paint as they negotiated the first complex of tightly knit corners.

Once the cars had emerged onto the straighter part of the track, the pack spaced out into a single file formation. Alvin was still in first place with Kevin's Nissan GT-R less than a car's length behind. Theodore was occupying third but had Ryan's Dodge Challenger making a move on his right. They were followed by Jeanette in a comfortable fifth and Xander trailing in sixth.

Around the next two corners, Ryan dropped down to fifth after being out maneuvered by Jeanette; leaving the two Jocks at the back of the pack. Whilst this tussle for the mid-positions of the race was taking place; Kevin had passed Alvin and now the two of them were pulling away.

Once the six cars had negotiated the famous 'corkscrew' turns and completed the lap; the split times were displayed. 1st Kevin, 2nd Alvin +0:02, 3rd Theodore +0:05, 4th Jeanette +0:07, 5th Xander +0:09, 6th Ryan +0:09. On starting the second lap the Jocks started to make their moves; Xander making the most of his opportunities. Ryan still could not pass Jeanette throughout the entire lap because of her tactical driving. At the front of the race, Kevin had managed to pull out a small lead.

Once the second lap was complete, the split times were as follows: 1st Kevin, 2nd Alvin +0:06, 3rd Xander +0:14, 4th Theodore +0:17, 5th Jeanette +0:20, 6th Ryan +0:21. These positions remained for the final lap, with Kevin pulling out more of a lead over the others, and Ryan desperately trying to pass Jeanette. Luckily, she held onto the place, gaining valuable points for the team. The race finished and another five minute break commenced, allowing the two teams to reflect on the last race results. The previous race results were displayed; showing the times between each car. 1st Kevin, 2nd Alvin +0:12, 3rd Xander +0:17, 4th Theodore +0:24, 5th Jeanette +0:25, 6th Ryan +0:26. The points standings after race two were then displayed on the big screens; showing how each team was fairing. 1st Kevin 20 points, 2nd Alvin 16 points, 3rd Xander 12 points, 4th Theodore 5 points and also Ryan on 5 points, followed by Jeanette in 6th on 4 points.

The chipmunk team saw the scores from the team bench and new they had a lot of work to do. They were trailing 37 points to 25, and had to place higher than the Jocks in the next two races to stand a chance.

"Good effort." Dave encouraged.

"It was better than last time," Brittany added.

"But the scores still aren't good enough." Simon said.

"We know, but the Jocks are too good." Jeanette replied.

"Don't worry, leave the Jocks to me." Alvin said confidently.

"Don't forget to work as a team." Eleanor reminded.

"It's the only way you can win." Brittany added.

"If you're going to win, you all need to ahead of at least Ryan and Xander; that will cut the points difference in half." Simon said.

"So that's our target, let's go guys." Alvin said looking like he meant business.

The three members of the chipmunk team returned to their stations early, to give themselves time to gain composure and concentration. The time ticked away and while they were waiting, Dr Rubin announced the next randomly selected circuit as the Nurbergring. This track was technical and required good car positioning throughout.

"Stay focused guys." Alvin reminded.

"We will." Theodore replied.

"Remember, we need to finish higher than the Jocks in the points." Jeanette reminded.

"Leave the Jocks to me." Alvin replied.

At that point the Jocks had now taken their places and the race was almost starting. The six competitors were given their grid positions and awaited the start. 1st was Jeanette, 2nd Kevin, 3rd Theodore, 4th Alvin, 5th Xander, and 6th Ryan. The start of the race was a long straight leading into a right-hand hairpin turn; it was crucial that they got their braking points right.

The race started and all six of the cars got off the grid with good pace; jostling for position as they got up to speed. By the time they all reached the first corner, Kevin had taken the lead and the inside line. Alvin was tailgating in a very close second, followed by the other four cars; Jeanette and Theodore defending against Ryan and Xander. Upon entry of the first tight turn, Ryan who was sitting in last place, completely missed the braking zone and overran the corner. To add to his mistake and bad start, he ran wide and took Xander off the track with him. The two of them looked visibly frustrated as they attempted to get their cars out of a gravel trap and back onto the track. This was the break that the chipmunk team were looking for, and they capitalised by following in Kevin's slipstream.

By the end of the first lap, Kevin had made a break and pulled out a lead of several seconds, but the chipmunk team were working as a unit to keep ahead of Ryan and Xander. They had now escaped from the gravel trap and caught up significantly. Luckily, the first half of the lap consisted of corners; playing into the Jeanette and Theodore's hands. The split times were displayed after the first lap as follows; 1st Kevin, 2nd Alvin +0:08, 3rd Jeanette +0:09, 4th Theodore +0:09, 5th Xander +0:22, 6th Ryan +0:23.

The second lap didn't throw up any changes in the order, but the gaps between the cars changed significantly. Even though Alvin was leading Jeanette and Theodore and providing them with his slipstream; the three of them were still losing time on the straights. At the end of the second lap, the times had changed significantly; 1st Kevin, 2nd Alvin +0:18, 3rd Jeanette +0:18, 4th Theodore +0:19, 5th Xander +0:23, 6th Ryan +0:24. These times just added to the tension; as it was evident that the Jocks' had much quicker pace.

Towards the end of the third and final lap, Xander and Kevin caught up to the chipmunk convoy and passed them all on a straight part of the track. Seeing that the two of them had passed, Alvin decided to go for it; it was all or nothing. With just a chicane consisting of consecutive left and right hand turns, and a sharp right hand turn remaining; Alvin went on the offensive. He accelerated away from Jeanette and Theodore in an attempt to secure second place. Alvin got a run up the hill in Ryan's slipstream and got around the outside of the left hand turn. This gave him the inside line of the immediate right hand turn. Seeing the chance, Alvin, alongside Ryan; decided to force him wide onto the grass. Ryan was too stubborn to relinquish third place and went onto the grass, trying to go around Alvin's car the hard way. This move backfired and Ryan's Dodge Challenger went into a spin; the back wheels losing traction and sliding sideways. This left the door open for Jeanette and Theodore to safely overtake.

The cars were now approaching the final corner and Alvin went on the offensive once more. He entered the corner without braking and rammed the back end of Xander's Dodge Viper, causing it to miss the corner entirely. Alvin had to face the consequences as his car slid off the track with Xander's; both ending up in a gravel trap at the start of the pit straight. Once again, this enabled Jeanette and Theodore to cruise past and on to the finish line. That just left Alvin, Xander and Ryan to cross the finish line.

As Alvin had run into the back of Xander's car, he had braked after contact; causing his car to be on the edge of the gravel trap and not in the middle of it like Xander. Alvin quickly recovered and drove back onto the track; completing the race in fourth position. Ryan too, had recovered and was heading for the last corner. Xander's car was now accelerating up to speed on the home straight, but was in Ryan's way. His Dodge Challenger barged Xander's significantly lighter Dodge Viper wide off the racing line and took fifth place. This sparked conflict amongst the Jock team, as they were taking each other out of the race instead of the other team.

The race finished and it was a seemingly good result for the chipmunk team all around. They had finished the race in higher points positions than the Jocks, and the Jocks were now tending to a bit of a conflict. The results from the third race were displayed on the big screens, as the two teams returned to the benches; one much happier than the other. 1st Kevin, 2nd Jeanette +0:28, 3rd Theodore +0:31, 4th Alvin +0:34, 5th Ryan +0:39, 6th Xander +0:41. These results caused a bit of a shuffle in the individual standings of the drivers. 1st Kevin 30 points, Alvin 2nd on 20, 3rd Xander with 13, 4th Jeanette with 12, 5th Theodore with 11, and trailing in 6th with only 7 points was Ryan.

The chipmunk team had won the race on points but still trailed 50 points to 43. This was encouraging, as they had closed the gap to the Jocks since the last race. But there was only one race left, and it was going to be a struggle to overturn the deficit in one race.

"Great work guys," Dave said looking pleased with their progress.

"It was all down to Alvin though." Jeanette pointed out.

"You guys were the ones crossing the line." Alvin replied.

"It was a team effort." Theodore concluded.

"Great driving; we're back in the competition." Brittany praised.

"But, looking forward to the final race, we are only just in it." Simon said.

At that moment, Dr Rubin decided to randomly select the fourth and final circuit. The big screens all displayed the chosen final race, which was identified as London.

"That's a coincidence." Dave commented.

"But seriously, do we have much chance of winning the next race with enough points?" Alvin asked.

"Barely, but it is possible." Simon replied.

"But we're gonna have to go one better than last time; 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places won't be enough." Jeanette explained.

"Which means you're gonna have to beat Kevin." Brittany pointed out. "But if anyone can do it, you can Alvin."

"I'll try my best, but if I start at the back of the grid someone else will have to." Alvin replied.

"Don't worry Alvin, we'll handle them." Theodore said.

"Just make sure that you beat Kevin." Jeanette added.

"Okay, I'll do my best." Alvin replied.

The three of them made their ways to the gaming stations for the fourth and final time. Tension building as the time of reckoning had arrived. The six competitors took their places; Ryan and Xander looking a little distracted after the events of the previous race. The grid positions were determined, and it was as Alvin had feared; he was on the back row of the grid. As a consolation to this, he was in 5th ahead of Xander in 6th, Theodore was in 3rd ahead of Ryan in 4th, and Jeanette was on pole position ahead of Kevin. The chipmunks' positions were all on the left hand side of the track, with the Jocks all on the right. This was tactically an advantage for the chipmunk team, as they had practised this sort of start and were prepared for it.

Jeanette knew that she could not outrun Ryan to the first corner, and he would have the inside line into the right hand turn; so she knew that she would have to go defensive. The countdown commenced, all the cars began to rev their engines, and once the lights went out the race began.

Kevin as expected bolted into the lead and pulled ahead of Jeanette. In response, Jeanette moved over to the right hand side of the track; restricting Ryan's movements. Theodore too, moved his car to the right and covered Ryan's attempts to move his car behind Jeanette's. This left Alvin just enough room to squeeze past Theodore's car and up the pack. Xander saw this move and attempted to follow Alvin's path, but was blocked by Theodore moving his car out to the left. Alvin continued to overtake, and passed Jeanette's Toyota Supra before the braking zone of the first corner. Theodore's blocking move on Xander had backfired, as it had allowed Ryan to move back to a central position at the entry to the first corner. This forced Theodore to move behind Ryan's Dodge Challenger, to cover the racing line and any overtaking moves from Xander's Dodge Viper.

Exiting the first corner, the pack immediately spread out and was in single file around the very narrow complex of corners. Kevin was at the front yet again, but Alvin was in hot pursuit; determined to match him for pace. Following in 3rd was Jeanette who had successfully defended against Ryan at the start of the race. Theodore was sitting in 5th after sacrificing his position, in order to let Alvin through and stop Xander's Dodge Viper from accelerating past them.

This was an ideal position for the chipmunk team to be in, as the London circuit only had one clear spot for overtaking; and that was the home straight. Luckily this straight was immediately after two tight corners; allowing Jeanette and Theodore to pull out a lead.

Reaching the end of the first lap, the split times were fairly close; showing how evenly matched the two teams were. 1st Kevin, 2nd Alvin +0:03, 3rd Jeanette +0:07, 4th Ryan +0:09, 5th Theodore +0:10, 6th Xander +0:11.

When Jeanette and Theodore approached the first corner of the circuit on the second lap, they had gained enough distance on the previous corners to keep the Jocks behind them. They now knew that they could hold off the Jocks' cars from overtaking, the rest was up to Alvin. He was trying his best and evidently was actually lapping faster than Kevin ahead of him. This was because Alvin had gotten close enough to latch onto the slipstream caused by Kevin's Nissan GT-R.

The split times at the end of lap 2 showed this clearly; Alvin was ready to pounce, and Jeanette and Theodore had Ryan and Xander under control. 1st Kevin, 2nd Alvin+0:01, 3rd Jeanette +0:10, 4th Ryan +0:12, 5th Theodore +0:13, 6th Xander +0:15.

The last lap was the same story as Jeanette and Theodore continued to hold Ryan and Xander at bay effectively. Alvin was still pushing to overtake Kevin and managed to get alongside him entering the final chicane. With all the adrenaline pumping, Alvin managed to edge ahead by a nose, but missed the braking point and ran wide. This allowed Kevin to regain the lead and left Alvin's car limping over the line with heavy cosmetic damage, from his glancing blow of the wall on the chicane. This shot down all their hopes of stealing the round from the Jocks, as the order of the field remained unaltered as they crossed the finish line.

Neither team was sure who had won, but Alvin knew that he had blown it big time. He had taken first place entering the last corner but foolishly run wide and let Kevin back through on the inside. This effectively handed the Jocks the victory, by only a hand full of points.

The two teams returned to the benches and sat watching the big screens in anticipation, as did the rest of the spectators in the gymnasium and across the country. The first thing to appear on the screens was the confirmation of the final race's results. 1st Kevin, 2nd Alvin +0:02, 3rd Jeanette +0:15, 4th Ryan +0:15, 5th Theodore +0:16, 6th Xander +0:16. It was extremely close according to the timing results of the race; which just added more tension and excitement ahead of the final results.

Alvin did not care to look at the screens as he knew he had lost under his own mistake and probably cost the team the victory. He simply sat with his head in his hands, severely disappointed with the mistake he had made. Brittany had noticed this and moved over to see if he was okay.

"Alvin? What's up?" Brittany asked.

"I blew it." Alvin replied, bitterly disappointed.

"You tried your best." Brittany reassured.

"I was so close." Alvin said.

"You _were_ the underdogs; don't go so hard on yourself." Brittany replied. "You were the best driver on the team and the results will show that."

"I know but it's my fault if we don't win." Alvin explained.

"It is not your fault!" Brittany protested, "You got the most points on the team; if it weren't for you we would have lost by a long way. Because of your brave driving we stayed in the round, and we still don't know the result; so stop beating yourself up."

Alvin couldn't help but listen to Brittany's reasoning, and took in all the positives that she had highlighted. He had done his best and achieved a fair amount of success in the process. If anything he should be proud of how he beat Ryan and Xander off the track to help his teammates.

"You're right." Alvin replied happily.

"I always am." Brittany said.

"Thanks." Alvin said appreciatively, holding her hand.

The times disappeared from the big screens and were replaced by the final driver standings. 1st Kevin with 40 points, 2nd Alvin with 28 points, 3rd Jeanette with 18, 4th Xander with 14, 5th Theodore with 13, and 6th Ryan with 11. Therefore the Jocks win the round 65 points to 59; and this result was displayed on the big screens for all to see. The Jocks had been triumphant and won the third round of the competition by six points.

The whole chipmunk team had suspected this was the case, but wanted to keep their hopes up. This loss came as a bitter pill to swallow, as the team had outperformed the Jocks on the last two races and still not won. This disappointment did not have long to sink in, as Alvin, Jeanette and Theodore were quickly whisked away to the press conference.

As the three of them headed over to the post match press conference panel, it was evident that the crowd that had been watching was deflated by the Chipmunks' defeat. This made them realise how much support they were receiving in comparison to the Jocks. This cheered them up slightly as they took their places for the press conference.

Dr Rubin introduced the post-match press conference in the usual manner and allowed the press to take turns asking questions to the panel. Although the Jocks had won the round, the members of the press were still more interested in asking the chipmunk team questions.

"How do you feel about losing by such a narrow margin?" A reporter asked.

"Disappointed," Alvin replied, "But at the same time proud."

"We did our very best, even though we seemed to be the underdogs." Jeanette added, helping Alvin out.

"What went wrong with your performance today?" Another reporter asked.

"We got off to a good start; but we came on strong at the end." Alvin explained.

"If the circuits had been kinder to us, it could have been a different story." Jeanette added.

"But the chosen circuits did seem to suit the 'Jocks'. What strategy did you adopt for the races?" The reporter asked, turning the question over to the Jocks.

Ryan wasn't expecting to have to answer the question and didn't have an answer for the reporter. Xander looked across at him and raised his eyebrows, as Ryan continued to think. He caught a glimpse of Xander's impatience, and became annoyed with him. Seeing that neither of them were going to answer the question, Kevin quickly jumped in with his own strategy choice.

"We just needed to keep the cars on the track and keep a cool head." Kevin explained.

"You didn't seem to be keeping cool heads in the third race, when you took each other off the track. It looked as if it sparked a little disagreement between the two of you; care to explain?" Claire asked as a member of the press.

This stirred up the room, as people started to whisper and mumble to one another; putting the pressure on the Jocks' teamwork. Alvin looked across at Ryan with a smug look; really winding him up.

"What's the matter Ryan?" Alvin jeered.

"It was just a lack of communication." Ryan replied.

"More like a lack of teamwork." Alvin suggested.

"On the topic of teamwork, do you feel that your team was propped up by one exceptional player?" The reporter asked Ryan.

"Of course not; we were all good." Ryan replied.

"The scoreboard says different." Alvin commented, pointing out the big screen that still had the points scores displayed on it.

This once again stirred up the press, with camera crews filming the scoreboard to illustrate Alvin's point.

"It looks more like a one-man show to me." Alvin commented.

"Believe what you want; we still won." Ryan replied arrogantly.

"Yeah? No thanks to you." Alvin answered back.

This made Ryan really angry, he was being made to look like he was the worst player, but he didn't want to accept it.

"If it wasn't for Kevin's video gaming skills, you would have lost for sure." Alvin added.

"You seem to have some respect for Kevin?" A reporter asked Alvin.

"I do; he has great talent at video gaming and has earned his high ranking. As for the other two; they were just riding on his talent." Alvin said.

"A one-man team." Jeanette added.

"Kevin was the difference between the teams today and nothing else." Alvin concluded.

From this point, the press conference wound down and a couple of minutes later came to a close. Dr Rubin returned to the stage to announce the next press conference.

"Thank you for coming. The next press conference will take place on Wednesday in the music room. It will be a pre-match press conference for round 4 of the competition; the 100m, 200m, and 400m running events. Thank you again for coming, and we hope to see you at the next event." Dr Rubin concluded.

The gymnasium cleared out, as the press left the area and the staff began to remove all of the gaming equipment. One member of the press remained behind after the rest, and the chipmunk team soon realised who it was.

"Sorry you didn't win," Claire said, as the six of them ran over to her.

"It's okay." Eleanor said.

"You'll get them next time." Claire encouraged.

"Thanks for the save back there." Alvin said, appreciating her intervention in the press conference.

"Yeah, it really put the Jocks under the spotlight." Simon added.

"I was just trying to help." Claire replied modestly.

"Well it was nice of you." Dave said approaching with his briefcase.

"It makes less work for you and me." Claire explained, "No one wants to know about the Jocks in the papers."

"You got that right." Alvin commented, laughing at how lame the Jocks were.

The others joined in laughing, as Alvin's laugh was contagious, and laughing at the expense of the Jocks wasn't a chance to be missed.

"I've got to go, but I'll see you guys soon, okay?" Claire said.

"Sure, thanks Claire." Alvin replied, winking at her.

Claire giggled at this; Alvin hadn't changed a bit, he was still as cheeky and mischievous as ever. She turned and left the gymnasium to go and write up her story for the newspaper. This left the Chipmunks, Chipettes and Dave to make the trip back home and to get something to eat; after all it was past 6pm. The third round of the competition had been a long and hard one, and it had taken its toll. They were all already tired as they set off home; not helped by the fact that they had lost the vent and fallen 2-1 down in the competition. The six of them know the importance of the next round, running event; none more than Alvin. He will be more determined than ever to make up for losing; and to finally win a round that he participates in. They are all going to have to work together in order to beat a seemingly unstable Jock team. The volatile nature of the Jocks' teamwork ethic will only spur the Chipmunks on, as it could be the key to beating the Jocks once and for all.

* * *

**Things are looking tough but looking on the bright side, the Jocks don't seem to be getting along all that well. Maybe the Chipmunks can take advantage of this and get back in the competition.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Please review (Didn't recieve any for the last chapter) :(**


	27. Running the Course

**Training begins for the fourth round of the competition; the running round: 100m, 200m, and 400m.**

**With Eleanor competing, the others are going to have to give her all the support that they can.**

* * *

Morning arrives at the Seville household, and soon after followed the sunlight through the curtains. It was Tuesday, and that meant school. On the Brightside, it was early July; meaning that there was only a couple of weeks left of the school year.

Alvin awoke thanks to a gap in the curtains; the sunlight beaming through onto his face and prompting him to get up. Although, this wasn't the only reason for the surprisingly early time that he got up. There were two days until the running event, and this alone was playing on Alvin's mind enough to persuade him. He was determined to lead the others to victory, and the best way to do that was by example. The first step on the road to victory was to train for the event, and that was Alvin's main focus.

He got out of bed and jumped straight down to the floor, trying to make as little noise as possible. But before he left the bedroom, he was stopped in his tracks by the sound of Brittany's voice. No matter how softly he had landed and walked across the bedroom, Brittany had still awoken and spotted his bed empty.

"You're up early." Brittany whispered. "It's only 6:30."

"I know; but I gotta go." Alvin replied.

"Where?" Brittany questioned.

"To train; I'm going jogging." Alvin answered.

"Didn't you think that I might have wanted to go?" Brittany said.

"Yes, but I didn't want to wake you." Alvin explained.

"Well, now that I _am_ awake; I'm coming too." Brittany replied.

She jumped down off her bed and joined Alvin; the two of them grabbed their freshly washed sportswear and went to get changed. As soon as they were ready they headed for the front door; still being careful not to make too much noise. They reached the front door but were stopped by Dave as he emerged from his bedroom.

"Where are you two going?" Dave asked looking serious and slightly grumpy.

"Out." Alvin replied; receiving a frown from Dave for his answer.

"We're going for an early morning jog." Brittany explained. "Training."

"Oh, okay." Dave replied. "Wait, where?"

"Just around the block." Alvin answered.

"Well, be careful, and don't be too long; you have school later." Dave said.

"Okay Dave." Alvin replied.

"Thanks Dave," Brittany replied, as the two of them bolted out through the front door.

Dave peered outside to see which way they had gone, before closing the door and going to make his breakfast. It was early but seeing as he was up he may as well do something useful. He decided to crack on with the last little details of the tour of England, while he ate his breakfast.

At the usual time of around 7, the Chipmunks and Chipettes got up and began to get ready. The only difference to their usual routine was that Alvin and Brittany weren't sleeping in; their beds were empty.

"Have any of you guys seen Alvin or Brittany?" Jeanette asked, after looking up on Brittany's bed and noticing her absence.

"They're probably sleeping in." Simon replied as he headed to the bathroom, still half asleep.

"They're not. Their beds are empty." Jeanette answered.

"Maybe they got up early." Eleanor suggested.

"That'll be one for the record books." Simon said as he exited the bedroom.

The four of them got washed and dressed, then went to join Dave at the breakfast table. Only Dave was not alone; Alvin and Brittany were having their breakfast and keeping him company. The others joined them at the table, slightly curious as to why they were up so early. Alvin and Brittany were both looking happy and very energetic. This was probably because of the time they had managed to spend together; just the two of them. The others all noticed that the two of them looked clean, which must have meant that they had used the bathroom a while ago.

"Hi guys, ready for breakfast?" Dave asked.

"Sure." Eleanor replied.

"I'm starving," Theodore added.

"Coming right up." Dave said as he left the table and went into the kitchen.

"So, why were you two up so early?" Simon quizzed.

"We went out together." Alvin replied.

"Where?" Jeanette questioned.

"Around the block," Alvin replied again, between eating his breakfast.

"So that's why you two look so happy." Simon concluded.

"Wait; what?" Brittany asked becoming confused.

"You don't need to tell us." Simon replied.

"Hold on." Brittany interrupted. "We only went jogging."

"It's true; ask Dave." Alvin added, backing her up.

"Were you training?" Theodore asked.

"Yeah," Alvin replied.

"Don't forget me," Eleanor reminded, "I'm in the next round too."

"Don't worry, Elle; Alvin was sneaking out to train alone but I caught him." Brittany explained.

"I wasn't sneaking." Alvin insisted.

"That sounds like Alvin." Simon said. "I guess you're telling the truth."

"Why? What did you think we were up to?" Brittany asked innocently; teasing Simon.

Simon didn't reply, he just blushed and began looking around the room for something to distract his attention. Alvin had a huge grin on his face and was doing his best not to laugh. Brittany had taken a page out of his book; teasing Simon; and Alvin liked it. Luckily at that moment, Dave returned with breakfast; saving Simon from the conversation and giving him a reason not to reply.

"There you go," Dave said as he put their breakfasts on the table.

"Thanks Dave." Theodore replied happily tucking in.

"So how did training go?" Dave asked.

"Fine." Brittany replied.

"When is the next training session?" Eleanor asked.

"We'll do some at lunchtime in the gymnasium." Alvin suggested.

"Just try not to ruin your sportswear." Dave warned, "It came back dirty enough this morning."

On hearing this, Simon looked across at Alvin and gave him a telling glare. His suspicion about Alvin's 'training' coming to the surface once again.

"Jogging, huh?" Simon said.

"What? I tripped." Alvin replied, putting his head down and continuing with his breakfast.

The six of them all went to school as usual, and found the time at break to meet up and talk about their training. They had just over 48 hours left to prepare for the running events; 100m, 200m, and 400m.

"Is the training going to be hard?" Eleanor asked.

"Definitely." Alvin replied.

"It has to be tough." Brittany said.

"No pain, no gain." Simon added.

"Don't worry; we'll be there to help you." Theodore reassured.

"Really?" Eleanor replied, feeling a little better about the whole thing.

"Of course." Jeanette assured.

"Thanks guys," Eleanor said. "I'm just a bit nervous about the whole physical event."

"You aren't the only one who's feeling the effects of the competition." Alvin commented; pointing out the Jocks at the other end of the corridor.

Ryan was looking a little hot under the collar, and Xander was in pursuit looking slightly ticked off. The rest of the Jock gathering was giving the two of them plenty of space; as they squared up to each other.

"I'm the team leader; so I decide who lost the game." Ryan said angrily.

"Just because you're 'in charge' doesn't mean you can blame whoever you want." Xander protested.

"You'd better watch your step; or you'll be off this team," Ryan threatened.

"Oh yeah; who's gonna replace me?" Xander questioned confidently.

"I can find someone, easy." Ryan replied.

"You know that you don't stand a chance without me; I'm the Running Back, remember." Xander pointed out.

"Just watch what you say; and don't cross me." Ryan reiterated.

"Whatever." Xander replied.

The two of them turned away from each other and exited in opposite directions. The Jock entourage was unsure who to follow, and scrambled in comical fashion; one half following Ryan and the other pursuing Xander. The Jock team looked as fragile as ever and Ryan didn't look as cool as he had in the previous events.

"They certainly don't get the concept of teamwork." Simon commented.

"Ryan's ego is too big for his own good." Alvin added.

"What about training, guys?" Theodore asked; reminding them of their previous paused discussion.

"Yeah, we are running short on time," Brittany pointed out as she saw the clock on the wall; time ticking away.

"We should discuss it at lunch." Jeanette suggested.

"Good idea." Simon agreed, as he used his locker to retrieve materials for his next class.

"Works for me." Alvin replied.

"Okay, we'll meet up at lunch and decide then." Brittany concluded.

Just as she put in the final statement of the conversation, the school bell rang; prompting them to head for their next classes.

As agreed, the six of them met up in the cafeteria at lunchtime and discussed their training plans. Dave joined them in the conversation in an attempt to check up on them and hopefully give a few pointers.

"So, the training needs to be frequent and efficient." Simon assessed.

"Meaning?" Alvin asked.

"It should be in moderation." Jeanette explained.

"Oh, okay." Alvin replied.

"Well, going for a jog in the morning is a good way to start; it worked for us." Brittany added.

"I'm sure it did." Simon replied, still dubious of what they had been up to.

"The events are 100m, 200m, and 400m. So I think you should focus on training for each one." Dave suggested helpfully.

"It would be easier." Alvin agreed.

"And we would be ready for the race events." Theodore added.

"So, how are you going to set out your training?" Dave asked curiously.

"The key area that should be the focus of attention is obviously the sprint distance; 100 metres. The longer distances don't require any special training; just stamina building." Simon summarised.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Alvin agreed.

"How are you going to train?" Dave quizzed.

"I don't know, run?" Alvin replied relatively clueless.

"I think you should leave the coaching to us." Simon suggested.

"We'll have you running rings around the Jocks in no time." Jeanette added.

"That way you can focus on running." Theodore pointed out.

"Okay, but don't go easy on us." Alvin warned.

"I don't intend to." Simon replied, accepting the challenge.

With that the six of them departed from the cafeteria and headed for the gymnasium, to start their training. Leaving Dave and their lunch trays at the table; giving him no other option but to clean up after them. They certainly weren't lacking enthusiasm Dave thought as he began clearing the table; sighing to himself.

As soon as Alvin, Brittany and Eleanor had changed into their sportswear, they proceeded out into the gymnasium to join Simon, Jeanette, and Theodore for training. Each with their role to play in the team; working as a unit, unlike the Jocks. Simon and Jeanette were coaching the three of them, and Theodore was there for the sole purpose of giving Eleanor all the support that he could.

The first order of business was to get them to stretch; Simon was describing and demonstrating, while Jeanette had acquired a book and was looking them all up in advance. The stretches were the most important part of the routine; there would be less chance of an injury occurring if they prepared for training. Alvin was doing all of the stretches perfectly, as he was an accomplished sportsman for the school. Brittany was doing quite well; she was supple enough to do all the stretches correctly without straining herself. Although Eleanor was another story; she was struggling with the exercises due to her build, and this was restricting her mobility.

Once the fairly successful stretching was done, the team proceeded to the warm up; a few simple laps of the gymnasium. Once again, Alvin finished without breaking sweat, and at a fairly quick pace. Brittany followed, slightly out of breath but with reasonable pace overall. Eleanor finished a while after the others, not looking as spritely, but certainly putting in the effort. She was already sweating and was out of breath a fair amount, but as they say: 'No pain, no gain'.

After this brief session of warming up, the real training began. The three of them were sent through an obstacle course of various cones; their objective was to weave in between each of the cones in the line. Simon was watching the movements of each of them, while Jeanette was timing them and logging the results.

As expected, Alvin finished the course in a very quick time of 8.52 seconds. Brittany put in a respectable time of 10.84 seconds, but Eleanor really struggled, even with Theodore's encouragement, and posted a time of 14.07 seconds. Once again this did not look too good, but mobility was not the aim of the game, and straight line speed would count for almost everything in the main event. So sensibly, the next test was to complete some short sprints from one end of the gymnasium to the other.

Simon measured the distance to be about 50 metres; so the target time was set at around 7 seconds approximately. This would be an adequate speed to beat the Jocks, even though the speed would have to be sustained for double the distance; it was a start. First up was Alvin; he was slow of the mark but quickly got up to speed; setting a final time of 7.59 seconds. Brittany was quicker off the start than Alvin but her fastest pace was a little slower than his; the time coming out as 7.94 seconds. Finally, Eleanor stepped up for her run, looking nervous and slightly put out by her poor performances in her own opinion. Theodore gave her a little more encouragement before the start; in an effort to boost her morale. Her start was good but she took a long time to get up to speed. She finished the run in 9.87 seconds; almost a full two seconds behind Brittany, not helping her morale or confidence in the slightest.

Although the next and final stage of training wasn't the best idea, Simon got the three of them to line up alongside one another and run the distance at the same time. This wouldn't help Eleanor in the slightest, but would give Simon and Jeanette a good idea of where each member of the team's strengths lies.

The three of them began at roughly the same pace, but Alvin and Brittany soon pulled away from Eleanor. But not to be discouraged, and with Theodore shouting words of encouragement; she soon got up to a good speed. Even though the result was as expected, all their times had improved and were decent enough to build upon. Alvin had reduced his time to 7.43 seconds, Brittany's time had dropped to 7.80 seconds, and Eleanor had significantly improved to just 9.44 seconds.

With that, training was over, Simon instructed them to do a cool down session; jogging around the gymnasium once again. This was followed by a couple of stretches, to make sure that they didn't get any cramps or injuries after the workout. The three of them then hit the showers after a sweat inducing sprint session; leaving Simon and Jeanette with some time to ponder over the performances they had seen. Theodore was alongside them to pick up any tips on helping Eleanor to improve.

"Well, that went well," Simon commented.

"I'm sure the other events will be fine." Jeanette replied looking on the Brightside.

"Do you think Elle can get any faster?" Theodore asked hopefully.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Simon replied

"Really?" Theodore replied in surprise.

"How?" Jeanette questioned.

"Didn't you notice how quick Eleanor's pace was at the end of the sprint?" Simon asked.

"Well, no, but her time wasn't too good." Jeanette pointed out.

"I just think that once she gets to that pace, then she can keep up with the others." Simon explained.

"Elle does have a lot of stamina." Jeanette added.

"So does she have a chance?" Theodore asked hopefully.

"Yes, but only at the 200m or 400m events." Simon replied.

"We'll find out later, when we train for the longer distances." Jeanette concluded.

Once the others had returned from the changing rooms, they all headed back to their lockers and the usual school routine. Their minds were made up by the school bell ringing; signalling that they needed to get to class, and quick.

After some boring afternoon classes, Alvin was finally free from school for the day, and happily left the classroom. Although, the happy mood that he was in was short lived; he was immediately thrown into a confrontation with Ryan. As soon as Alvin had left the classroom, Ryan had spotted him and cut him off; stopping him in his tracks.

"You thought you were real smart in that press conference, didn't you?" Ryan said. "Well, I'm gonna make sure you're not in the next one."

"Good luck." Alvin replied, walking around Ryan and heading to the lockers.

This made Ryan angry; the pure lack of fear towards him was enough to cause him to act. He stamped the floor behind Alvin in an attempt to scare him.

"I'm not done with you yet." Ryan said angrily.

"But I'm done with you." Alvin answered back.

He continued to walk away from Ryan; giving him even more frustration. He couldn't take Alvin's reactions anymore and he snapped; and began to pursue him down the hall.

"Come back here, you dirty rat!" Ryan shouted as he tried to catch up to Alvin, who had begun to sprint.

Alvin was too agile for Ryan, and reached the lockers before Ryan had even entered the hallway. Alvin began to open his locker as he always did, but was interrupted halfway through entering the combination.

"Why were you running? Scared?" Ryan said.

"No. But you're gonna have to run faster than that in the next event." Alvin replied.

"I'll stop you running." Ryan threatened; making a step in Alvin's direction.

Seeing this obvious attempt to injure him, Alvin defended himself with some quick thinking. Ryan's advancing leg was met with the cold, hard metal of the locker door; as Alvin flung it open at speed. The impact was pain inflicting, and the contact with Ryan's shin was enough to send him hopping away.

Alvin saw how painful it was, and couldn't help but burst out laughing when he saw Ryan begin to hop about the hallway clutching his shin. The moment was priceless, and Alvin would have loved for the others to have been there to witness the spectacle. But the fact was that they weren't, and Alvin was still on his own with Ryan to contend with.

Ryan finally recovered from his comical hopping and regained his composure, and rage. The laughing would not have helped matters and will have just have been fuel on the fire. Alvin quickly reacted to Ryan's movements, as he saw him lining up his foot in his direction. Ryan swung his leg towards Alvin, but was immediately off target as Alvin dived inside the locker. A repercussion of this wild kick was the kicking of the locker door; adding further pain. Kicking the locker door with ferocity caused Ryan to hurt his foot, and resulted in another comical injury. The downside to Alvin's escape was that he had become trapped in the locker after Ryan had booted the door shut. Ryan began to try and open the locker after realising that he had inadvertently closed it.

No sooner had Ryan begun to attempt to open Alvin's locker, Brittany emerged from round the corner and headed down the hall. She had noticed that Ryan was looking around to see if anyone was watching; while trying to break into Alvin's locker. Brittany immediately dashed to the lockers to stop Ryan from getting into the locker.

"Hey! What're you doing?" Brittany interrupted as she arrived on the scene.

"None of your business." Ryan answered back angrily.

"Well, maybe I should make it Dr Rubin's business." Brittany threatened.

Ryan immediately stopped what he was doing; Brittany had definitely gotten his attention. The last thing he wanted was to get in trouble and have to face Dr Rubin again; he had already been given a final warning.

"You know, there have been some locker break-ins recently." Brittany informed him.

"So." Ryan replied uncaring.

"Maybe you were the culprit; after all, I have caught you red handed." Brittany explained.

"You can't pin them on me." Ryan replied.

"Want me to try?" Brittany asked.

Ryan paused for a few moments before conceding the battle of words, and retreating down the hall. The consequences of getting into trouble were too great of a risk. Brittany watched as Ryan left the hallway and turned the corner out of sight.

As Brittany was waiting for the others to arrive, she noticed a piece of paper fall out of the gap in Alvin's locker. She picked it up and opened it; the note was crudely written. The note simply read 'Thank you'; immediately leading Brittany to the suspicion that Alvin was inside his own locker, again. She began laughing after recognising Alvin's handwriting and realising that he was sending note to her from inside.

"Let me guess, Ryan?" Brittany asked as she stood right next to the locker door.

"Can you let me out? Alvin asked. "It's kinda dusty in here."

"Hmm…I'll think about it." Brittany teased.

"Come on, please." Alvin replied.

"Well…I don't know." Brittany said.

"We can go jogging again." Alvin suggested, trying to make a deal.

"Just the two of us?" Brittany asked.

"Of course." Alvin replied.

The locker door immediately opened, and Brittany was stood in the bright hallway waiting for him. Alvin stumbled out and coughed a couple of times, all the while dusting off his red hoody

"You drive a hard bargain." Alvin said.

"You should know." Brittany replied.

"Very funny." Alvin replied.

"So, what happened this time?" Brittany asked, wondering how he had ended up inside his locker.

"Well, Ryan tried to catch me, but I outran him to the lockers," Alvin explained.

"At least we'll be quicker than Ryan." Brittany commented.

"That's what I told him, and it made him angry. He tried to kick me but I hit his shin with the locker door. Then I got trapped in there when he kicked the door shut." Alvin explained.

"But you're okay?" Brittany asked.

"Of course I am, but Ryan will have a few bruises." Alvin replied.

The two of them were then joined by the others, and they immediately began discussing their training plans. The six of them were soon joined by Dave, and they all headed back home in the car. On the way home, Alvin told his story to the others; making sure to mention Ryan's comical hopping from his injury. The whole car was full of laughter as they arrived home and parked outside.

As soon as they stepped through the front door, they went to get changed for training. Simon, Jeanette and Theodore headed straight out of the backdoor and sat on the bench in preparation. Soon after, the three competing chipmunks emerged from the house; ready for training to begin.

The training session was gotten underway by Simon conducting the stretching session to start things off. This was then followed by a warm-up session as before; running around the perimeter of the garden to get their heart rates up. Upon completion of the warm-up, the six of them headed around to the front of the house. This was due to the substantial amount of space available. There was a very long stone path running past the house and it could be used as a running track. Simon's ingenuity led the training to a stamina based session; several laps of the path in front of the house.

The path that they were using was a cobbled one, and the surface was very uneven; requiring good balance and agility to run on it. This is probably why Alvin and Brittany were coping with it, and Eleanor clearly wasn't.

"This isn't the ideal place to be training." Jeanette said.

"It's all bumpy and looks hard to run on." Theodore commented.

"I admit that the path is uneven, but it will help with their balance." Simon replied.

"Training will have to be done on the running track tomorrow." Jeanette said. "They need to try running the full 400 metres."

"I agree; they can experience the actual venue at the same time." Simon agreed.

"Do you think that Elle will be able to run 400 metres?" Theodore asked, concerned about his counterpart.

"Theo, if you give her your loving support; she'll be able to do anything." Simon reassured.

After several laps, Alvin and Brittany were both beginning to feel the burn; slowing down to a very slow pace. Eleanor was still managing to jog over the rough terrain but just barely. Seeing this, Simon and Jeanette decided that they had done enough training for the time being. He called the three of them back so that he could give them instructions for the cool down session.

Alvin and Brittany were both slightly out of breath and slumping in posture; obviously feeling the strain from the endurance training. Eleanor looked in worse shape; she could barely stand up, and was dripping with sweat. She was visibly exhausted and was short of breath; there were definitely no questions over her effort and determination. Although, it did look like she was finding the training extremely taxing.

Simon led the three of them back around the house to the back garden, so that they could complete the cool down and stretching exercises. By the time they had completed these tasks, it was nearly dinnertime; so they were dismissed to go and wash, and change out of their sports clothes. Sure enough, after they had changed their clothes, Dave called them all for dinner.

Later on in the evening, they decided to train a bit more, just to burn off some of the energy from their meal. Although, it didn't really seem a good idea for Eleanor to train, as she looked exhausted. So after a brief discussion, Alvin and Brittany went out to jog around the block; building on their stamina and endurance.

Simon was once again dubious about letting the two of them go jogging together, alone. Dave was concerned as well, but only about their safety.

"Be careful guys." Dave reminded, as the two of them jogged down the path and onto the pavement.

"Don't worry Dave." Alvin reassured.

"It'll be fine." Brittany added.

The two of them jogged off out of sight, beginning their very long laps around the block.

After a good half an hour, Alvin and Brittany were becoming tired and decided to slow down to walking pace for a short rest.

"Wow, I'm exhausted." Brittany commented.

"Yeah, me too." Alvin replied.

"Do you think we can beat the Jocks?" Brittany questioned while trying to catch her breath.

"No doubt we can beat Ryan." Alvin replied. "But Xander is quick; he's the Running Back on our school football team."

"Running Back?" Brittany asked, not really understanding.

"He's fast." Alvin explained.

"Can he run long distances?" Brittany quizzed.

"He never has to run very far, so I'm not sure." Alvin replied. "But to make sure we beat him we're gonna have to train even harder."

"I'm already working as hard as I can." Brittany said with sweat rolling down her face.

"Maybe we should stop for a while." Alvin suggested, seeing that Brittany was struggling.

"Good idea," Brittany replied, wiping some sweat from her forehead.

The two of them sat down on some grass at the edge of the pavement for a rest. Alvin lay back and looked up into the sky; there were stars becoming visible, which meant that it must have been getting late. Brittany lay down beside him, stretching out her arms and stomach.

"Maybe we should head back soon." Brittany suggested after noticing the sky as well. "Dave will be getting worried."

"You know, you look really cute when you sweat." Alvin said, looking across at her.

"You too." Brittany replied jokingly.

The two of them gazed at each other for a moment before being interrupted by a slightly unwelcomed sight. Alvin had noticed that there was a photographer and a press reporter heading their way. He could tell that they were by their getup; they must have spotted the two of them doing laps.

"Ready for the final spring home?" Alvin asked.

"Let's go." Brittany replied looking in the direction of the press.

Alvin and Brittany both jumped to their feet and ran as fast as they could in the direction of home. The two members of the press began to pursue them; wanting to take pictures and ask some questions. But Alvin and Brittany had other ideas, as they began to get away from the two men.

They turned the corner, near to their home, and quickly hid behind a hedge. The two men jogged past down the street looking left and right in search of the two chipmunks. Alvin and Brittany sneaked around the back of the hedge and entered the garden through the front gate, undetected. They watched the men to see where they would go next, but luckily they left the street.

Alvin and Brittany were still panting heavily from their sprint escape from the press. They walked up the cobbled path to the front garden. The two of them were now laughing after they had escaped the press. It had been so much fun; every moment that they were alone together seemed to be filled with fun and excitement. At least the pursuing members of the press had helped them with their workouts.

Dave must have heard their laughter, because as the two of them reached the front door; it opened in front of them. Dave was stood in the doorway and did not look happy.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Dave asked sounding cross.

"Umm…I forgot my watch." Alvin replied.

"It's 9:30!" Dave answered.

"Sorry Dave." Brittany replied apologetically.

"It won't happen again." Alvin assured him. "I'll get a watch."

"Hurry up and got to bed." Dave ordered.

Alvin and Brittany didn't need telling twice; they rushed into the bedroom to avoid Dave's wrath. They didn't want to cross Dave; especially while he was under a lot of stress. The telling off they had received was bad enough; but considering the fun that the two of them had had together; it was worth it.

* * *

**Alvin and Brittany are really getting on well, and there training is going great too. Hopefully Eleanor can improve, as there is only one full day left for training.**

**The press conference is also coming up and it could be a pivotal moment for the balance of competition.**

**Thanks for reading, and for all the great reviews. :)**


	28. Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk

**Okay, this chapter sees the Chipmunks and Chipettes getting ready for the running round of the competition.**

**The press conference arrives and the team needs to step up to the plate. The Jocks may be bigger but it's who's the fastest that's important. Enjoy.**

* * *

It was early morning on the day of the press conference for the running event of the competition. With this on their minds; three of the six chipmunks awoke from their slumber. There was training to be done, and unless the effort was put in it would be fruitless.

Alvin, Brittany and Eleanor all dragged themselves out of bed and got changed into their sportswear. As they had planned the previous day, they headed out of the house and started their early morning jog. This was a vital part of the training schedule, as it would get the three of them going for the rest of the day.

Their morning jog took slightly longer than the previous morning, because Eleanor was jogging at a slightly slower pace than the others. Alvin wasn't too bothered about this, as the whole team needed to train to the best of their ability; and Eleanor was doing just that. Brittany, on the other hand, was not happy about Eleanor slowing them down. But she was mainly annoyed by Eleanor just being there with the two of them; when she could be spending some quality time alone with Alvin. Though Brittany couldn't complain or show her frustration, as Eleanor had the right to be there and to train with the two of them.

Once the three Chipmunks had completed their route, they returned to the house. They needed to get ready for school; preparing for a long day of education and an important press conference afterward. Upon entering through the front door the three of them immediately found that they were lagging behind for time. Simon, Jeanette and Theodore were already taking their turns to use the bathroom, which meant that they had finished jogging later than the previous morning and would have to wait their turn.

Alvin, Brittany and Eleanor all went to the bedroom to get their clothes for the day ahead, before joining the others in the queue for the bathroom. Jeanette had just emerged from the bathroom, and Simon let Theodore in next in front of him.

"Please tell me you got up early." Alvin said as they queued up.

"Nope, on time as usual." Simon replied.

"You guys were late back," Jeanette commented as she stopped next to the queue.

"We were held up." Brittany said, hinting that Eleanor was to blame.

Jeanette frowned at her sister; not pleased with her attitude towards Eleanor. She was trying her best and certainly didn't need any criticism.

The six Chipmunks gradually took turns in the bathroom, and eventually all joined Dave together for breakfast. They were all met with the familiar sight of oatmeal; Dave's attempt to help them gain an advantage through their diets. Luckily, there were plenty of ingredients to complement the bowl of mush; and so there wasn't too much complaining. There was an occasional comment from Alvin but nothing out of the ordinary.

After finishing off their power breakfast, they all headed off to school as part of their usual school day routine. Although it would be hard to concentrate on actually doing school work, as the press conference was probably plaguing their minds. In addition, there was also training to focus on for the next round and that would not help their concentration.

Thankfully the Chipmunks and Chipettes got through the morning of classes without faltering, and once they had eaten their lunches they made for the outdoor running track, and training.

"So, what's today's training?" Alvin asked as he jogged on the spot; raring to go.

"Longer distances," Simon replied.

"Endurance." Jeanette added.

"For the 400 metres?" Brittany quizzed.

"Yep, one full lap of the track; and we're gonna test how you can pace yourselves." Simon explained.

"As well as timing you." Jeanette reminded.

"So let's get going," Alvin replied.

Alvin, Brittany and Eleanor performed their usual stretches to loosen up, before proceeding with their warm-up exercises. They jogged the straight 100 metre stretch of the track and then jogged back; Eleanor looking slightly demoralised as she trailed behind Alvin and Brittany. The three of them returned to recover before their big test; a full lap of the track. Alvin looked up for it and put himself at the front of the queue to run. Theodore could see that Eleanor was starting to struggle, so he walked over to her to give her some support and check how she was doing.

"Are you okay, Elle?" Theodore asked caringly.

"Sure, I'm fine," She replied putting on a smile for him.

"Well, just do your best, okay?" Theodore encouraged, not sure whether to buy Eleanor's reply.

"I will." She assured.

"I'll be here if you need me." Theodore pointed out, lending her his full support.

"Thanks Theo." She replied, looking a little more confident than before.

In the meantime, Alvin had run and completed his lap, and Brittany was now doing hers. Alvin had completed the lap in 1 minute 10 seconds, which was a good time; worthy of matching the Jocks. Eleanor readied herself physically and mentally, in preparation for her turn, as Brittany neared the finish. Theodore stuck by her to offer any more encouragement that he could.

"Remember to pace yourself." Theodore reminded helpfully.

Eleanor took this advice on board and once she had started her run she put it into action. She finished the lap as strong as she had started it and posted a solid time of 1 minute 28 seconds. Brittany had posted a much quicker time on the previous run; 1 minute 17 seconds, and her and Alvin now looked fresh and ready to go again, as Eleanor stumbled off the track. She headed over to Theodore to join him while she rested. Just as she reached him she tripped over her own feet out of exhaustion, prompting him to catch her as she fell.

"Thanks Theo," She said thankfully, as she got her breath back.

"You seem lighter." Theodore pointed out.

"Lighter?" Eleanor questioned.

"I mean when I caught you, you felt like you weighed less." Theodore explained.

"You think so?" Eleanor asked, beginning to check herself out; she didn't look any thinner.

"It must be all the exercise." Theodore suggested.

"Yeah." Eleanor agreed.

"So, keep it up." Theodore encouraged.

"I'll do my best." Eleanor said as she left to re-join Alvin and Brittany for another lap.

The three of them would now all run a lap of the track at the same time, so that their pace could be compared. Simon and Jeanette watched intently as the three began their lap. As was expected, Alvin and Brittany both bolted off the start line at high speed. This left Eleanor trailing behind from the word go, not helping her confidence in the slightest. But not to be discouraged, and with Theodore cheering her on from the side lines, she forged on in a race against the clock.

"It looks like the same outcome." Jeanette said, as the three of them watched the trial race unfold.

"Don't be so sure," Simon cautioned, "Alvin and Brittany may be quick, but they don't have the stamina that Eleanor has."

By the time they had finished discussing the outcome, Alvin had entered the home straight, with Brittany attempting to keep up just several metres back. The two of them looked like they were tiring as they approached the finish line. The same couldn't be said for Eleanor, who was still setting a solid and consistent pace. Jeanette clocked the times with the stopwatch as each of them crossed the line; Simon wrote them down and compared them to last time. Alvin had finished the run in 1 minute 14 seconds, slower than his first run by 4 seconds. Brittany suffered a similar fate, finishing 3 seconds slower than previously, with a time of 1 minute 20 seconds. Eleanor on the other hand, had gained a couple of seconds and posted a time of 1 minute 26 seconds.

This was really promising, as her stamina was very good and she was consistently improving. Simon and Jeanette looked at each other in slight disbelief; Eleanor had managed to run quicker the second time around.

Eleanor stumbled over to join them, to find out what the next part of training would be. Simon and Jeanette finalised their figures and conclusions, before briefing the others.

"Alvin, Brittany, your times are quick enough to challenge the Jocks in the 400 metres, but your stamina and consistency need some improvement." Simon analysed.

"You both dropped a few seconds on your second run." Jeanette added.

"That's expected." Alvin commented.

"Not necessarily." Simon replied.

"Eleanor was quicker on her second run." Jeanette announced.

"How?" Brittany asked.

"She was running slow anyw…" Alvin began before having his foot stamped on by Simon.

"I was faster?" Eleanor questioned dubiously.

"It's down on my paper." Simon replied.

"I told you that you could do it." Theodore said proudly.

"Now let's see if you can do it again." Jeanette said.

"Again?" Brittany asked.

"That's right, get ready to run again." Simon answered.

"I can't, I have a foot injury." Alvin said pointing at the foot that Simon had stamped on.

"Run it off." Simon replied unsympathetically.

The three of them trooped over to the start line and got ready for the third and hopefully final run. They were all looking tired, their slumped postures being an obvious sign.

"You all look full of energy." Simon joked.

"Very funny." Alvin replied sarcastically.

"Do we have to run again? We're exhausted." Brittany asked, hoping for the easy way out.

"Sorry, it's part of the training." Simon replied.

"Plus, it's an ideal time to test your stamina and strength." Jeanette added.

"Exactly, so are you ready?" Simon continued.

"Yes." Alvin answered half-heartedly.

"Not really." Brittany said sounding annoyed.

"Yes." Eleanor replied enthusiastically, her competitiveness and determination shining through.

This was a welcomed change from her low morale; seeing this, Simon quickly set them off around the track for their final run.

"Elle seemed happy." Theodore said to the others.

"I know. She must have gained some confidence." Jeanette added.

"Well, let's see what effect it has on her pace." Simon said.

Sure enough, as the three chipmunks neared the end of the run, Alvin and Brittany had 'hit the wall' and were almost falling down. Eleanor was following closely behind, but didn't look as tired as the others; her stamina becoming evident. Alvin was first to finish again, stumbling over the line after 1 minute 20 seconds; Brittany followed him with a time of 1 minute 23 seconds. The surprise was that Eleanor was right on their tail with a time of 1 minute 25 seconds, yet another second faster than her previous time. These results were concurring with Simon's thoughts from before the third and final run.

"Well done." Jeanette said as the three of them traipsed over.

"Not bad." Simon said looking over their times.

"Well done Elle." Theodore congratulated.

This brought a smile to her tired looking face. Alvin and Brittany were too busy regaining their breath and recovering to notice. Simon and Jeanette smiled at one another, seeing how well the team was working and the support Theodore was giving Eleanor.

"Okay guys," Simon said getting their attention, "Time for the cool down."

"Can't we just stop?" Brittany suggested.

"Definitely not, the cool down is as important as the exercise." Jeanette explained.

"So, jog up the straight part of the track and then back again, and remember to take your time." Simon ordered.

There were simultaneous groans from Alvin and Brittany, but Eleanor didn't seem too bothered. She just got on with it without any fuss.

"I have to admit, Eleanor may not have the pace, but she's definitely got the spirit and determination." Simon analysed.

"Hopefully she'll carry it on into the main races." Jeanette added.

"Is Elle going to be okay in the race?" Theodore asked, looking at the results on the notepad.

"With all the support you're giving her she'll do great." Jeanette encouraged.

"The results don't lie; you're helping her a lot." Simon agreed.

Alvin, Brittany and Eleanor returned after the cool down and, under Simon and Jeanette's instruction, completed their stretches to help them loosen off. They then went to wash and get changed, ready for their next classes in around ten minutes.

While Alvin, Brittany and Eleanor were in the changing rooms, the others devised the next training session and specific areas of training. They concluded that Alvin and Brittany were best just continuing in the same way, but Eleanor may benefit from some individual training. It would be best for Eleanor to train separately with Theodore's help, so that she would receive as much benefit and confidence boosting from her training as possible.

Soon enough, the three chipmunks emerged from the changing rooms, and the school bell rang, signalling that they needed to go to class. They parted ways and arranged to meet at their lockers after school, in preparation for the press conference. Alvin was feeling confident ahead of the head to head with Ryan, partly because he was faster but also that he had a few tricks up his sleeve.

Once school had been dismissed for the day the six chipmunks met at their lockers for their final pep talk. Alvin was obviously going to be centre stage in the press conference, which meant that some of the pressure would be lifted from the others.

"Just relax guys; I'll handle most of the questions." Alvin reassured.

"It's your job as captain." Brittany reminded.

"Don't worry Britt, I've got you covered." Alvin replied.

"Just make sure you do." Jeanette said, "It _is_ Brittany's first press conference."

"You'll get used to it pretty quickly." Simon assured her.

"Besides, I'll help you as well," Eleanor said supportively, "Most of the questions will be directed at me or Alvin anyway."

"We better get going guys." Simon said.

The six of them walked and talked until they arrived at the Gymnasium, where the press conference was to take place.

"All ready to go?" Dave asked as they entered the room.

"You bet." Alvin said enthusiastically.

"How about the rest of you?" Dave asked focussing on Brittany and Eleanor.

"I'm ready." Eleanor replied.

"Me too." Brittany added.

Dave could tell that Brittany was feeling a little nervous, and tried to help her feel a little more relaxed.

"There's nothing to be nervous about." Dave assured. "It's just like being on stage; you're the star of the show. Besides, you look great."

"I'm always telling her that." Alvin piped up.

Brittany felt better after hearing this; it was all put into perspective.

"Come on." Brittany said, playfully punching Alvin on the arm before heading for the conference area.

"Hey," Alvin replied. "Wait up."

He headed off in the direction of the panel, leaving Dave and the other four chipmunks at the entrance to the gymnasium.

"We better take our seats." Dave said.

He made his way to the seating area, and was followed closely by Simon and Jeanette. Theodore waited behind to give Eleanor some last minute words of support.

"You won't be the focus of attention," Theodore reassured, hinting at her earlier comment.

"I _am_ the underdog." Eleanor pointed out.

"Alvin will handle it." Theodore said, putting great faith in his brother.

"I hope so." Eleanor replied.

"Good look anyway." Theodore said.

"Thanks." She replied happily before heading for the set.

Theodore headed for the seating area to join Dave and the others just in time for the start of the press conference. Dr Rubin made her way on stage and was ready to get the press conference underway. The Jocks had arrived earlier than the chipmunk team, and were sat looking confident on the right side of the panel.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the press conference for the running events. These events will be 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres, and will take place tomorrow after the end of the school day." Dr Rubin, "So, now that the introductions are out of the way I'll open the floor to questions from the general public.

This signalled the start of the Q and A session, and there was an immediate rising of hands from members of the press. Dr Rubin had to pick people out from the audience one at a time, as there were so many candidates.

"What are your chances of winning this event?" The first chosen member of the press asked, focusing the question towards the Chipmunk team.

"We have a great chance." Alvin replied confidently.

"Why is that?" The reporter questioned.

"Because I'm faster than Ryan." Alvin stated.

"We'll see about that." Ryan challenged from the other side of the panel.

"Ooh, we already know that I can outrun you; any time any place." Alvin answered back.

"Whatever, you're all talk and no action." Ryan replied. "That's why we're winning 2-1."

"Okay, okay, next question," Dr Rubin interrupted, returning order to the press conference.

"Who is the fastest member of your team?" Another reporter asked the chipmunks.

"Me, obviously." Alvin replied.

Brittany gave him an evil look, and Alvin soon noticed this. To cover himself he quickly continued his answer.

"But Brittany isn't far behind me." Alvin added, rescuing himself from Brittany's wrath.

"What about Eleanor?" The second reporter questioned.

"I'm not very quick; not close to Alvin and Brittany anyway." Eleanor answered truthfully.

Brittany heard this honest answer, and immediately contemplated how she had been acting towards Eleanor. She and Alvin had had an easier ride in training in the run up to the running event, but Eleanor was still giving it her all to keep up with them. Eleanor was clearly feeling bad about her performance in comparison to them in training.

"But you do have good stamina," Brittany pointed out, "Which is perfect for the 400 metre event."

Eleanor looked across at her sister, a smile emerging on her face; the appreciation clearly visible. Up until now Eleanor had felt left out and like a third wheel in the training sessions, but after hearing Brittany's opinion on her running she finally felt like she was part of the team.

"So you have all aspects of the event covered." The reporter summarised.

The three chipmunks nodded in reply, all feeling confident about the team working as a unit to cover each other's weaknesses. The Jocks on the other hand, and the other side of the panel, were looking a little ticked off. They hadn't received any questions about how they felt, and the Chipmunks were getting all the attention.

"Okay, the next question needs to be focused towards the other team." Dr Rubin said orchestrating the press conference by choosing the next person.

"Who is best at each event?" A sports correspondent asked the Jock team.

"Well, my strong point would be the short races." Ryan stated.

"Are you sure about that?" Alvin questioned.

"What's it to you?" Ryan answered back.

"Oh nothing. Only, when you were chasing me through school yesterday, you seemed a little sluggish." Alvin said smugly.

"I wasn't running at full speed." Ryan defended.

"You were chasing Alvin through the hallways?" Dr Rubin interrupted in a serious tone.

"That's right." Alvin commented.

"I was late for class." Ryan said making an excuse for himself.

"It was after school." Alvin pointed out.

"He's lying," Ryan said, "He's just trying to get me in trouble."

Dr Rubin saw straight through Ryan's web of lies and decided to take action.

"After school or not, I'll be seeing you after this press conference." Dr Rubin said authoritatively.

"Ooo." Alvin heckled from the other side of the panel.

"Busted." Brittany jeered, joining in.

"Ahem, back to the questions." Dr Rubin interrupted.

Ryan tried to recover from his downfall by changing the emphasis of his answer. In an attempt to shift the focus of the press conference, Ryan changed the focus of attention to Xander.

"Xander is the fastest on our team; after all he is a Running Back for the school football team." Ryan boasted.

Suddenly the reporters' focus turned to Xander, now knowing that he plays for the school as a Running Back. This gave the Chipmunk team time to relax and regroup after their questions. Alvin was taking the whole relaxing thing a bit too far, as he put his hands behind his head and put his feet up on the desk.

This must have annoyed Ryan, as all the pressure was being heaped on him; and Alvin had come out of the situation smelling like roses. The next five minutes of the press conference were focussed solely on the Jock team, really putting them through the mill. The questioning was very detailed and must have been pretty demanding, as by the end of the bombardment the Jocks all looked drained.

Dr Rubin decided to draw the press conference to a close, as all the important questions had been answered, and it was starting to drag on. The chipmunks had come out on top from the press conference as a whole, but as Alvin had suspected; Xander was the Jocks' main threat. Determined not to be outdone Alvin was not resting on his laurels, and would begin training as soon as possible. But before that they had to get home.

The chipmunk team regrouped stage left, and along with Dave began to make their way to the exit. All the time they were walking whey were discussing their next steps in training, and Alvin was attempting to hurry them up by ushering them along. As they left the gymnasium and headed for the car, Alvin caught a glimpse of Ryan receiving a lecture from Dr Rubin. Ryan noticed Alvin at the far end of the hallway and gave him an angry look, eyes like daggers, as he stared him down. Alvin was unfazed by this as he knew that he had Ryan rattled, and simply grinned back at him. Ryan must have been riling inside as once again Alvin got the last laugh.

Once the chipmunks returned home it was training on the agenda, and Alvin was psyched up. He was first to get changed and was jogging on the spot while he waited for the others. Eventually all six of the chipmunks were present at the front of the house, and as usual the stretches and warm up sessions ensued.

"Alvin looks fired up." Simon said watching the three competing chipmunks jogging around.

"It must have been the interview." Jeanette suggested.

"Don't forget Elle, she's trying really hard too." Theodore pointed out.

"We know she is." Simon reassured him. "So we're going to train her separately."

"Elle will benefit from some specialised training." Jeanette explained.

Theodore looked confused and didn't really understand what they meant, or why it would be beneficial. Alvin, Brittany and Eleanor returned from the warm up routine and waited for further instructions.

"Okay, as you know our long distance running isn't the best." Simon started.

"It isn't that bad." Alvin said positively.

"But it's not that good either." Simon replied.

"Does that mean more stamina training?" Brittany asked dreading the answer.

"The long distance event is the best event for us to collect points in." Jeanette reasoned.

"So, the training will be timed runs around the block." Simon announced.

"We did that this morning." Brittany moaned.

"Then it should be easy." Jeanette replied with a grin on her face.

"Right, so let's go." Alvin said enthusiastically.

He jogged off towards the gate, leaving Jeanette with little time to start the stop watch. Seeing that Alvin was ready to go, Brittany had little choice but to follow him and try to catch up. Eleanor began to jog after them but was stopped by Simon.

"Eleanor! Wait a minute." Simon shouted.

"What is it?" Eleanor replied, slightly puzzled at why she had been stopped.

"We have a different training session planned for you." Simon explained.

"Different?" Eleanor asked sounding even more puzzled.

"It's special training to help you." Theodore said encouragingly.

"Individually focussed." Jeanette added.

"So you can work at your own pace." Simon pointed out.

"It sounds like a good idea." Eleanor replied sounding slightly unsure.

"Don't worry; I'll be here to help." Theodore reassured.

"With Alvin and Brittany out of our hair for the time being, we can start your training." Simon said.

"I'll keep an eye on them, so you can focus on Eleanor's training." Jeanette proposed.

"If you think it's for the best." Simon replied.

Jeanette took the stopwatch and went to wait at the gate at the exit of the garden. This left Simon to train Eleanor, with Theodore present for support. Simon quickly flicked through an exercise book before deciding how to go about the training session.

"Okay, now, your training session will consist of the usual sequence of warm-up, main exercises, and cool down. You're going to train for the 100 metres event as you already have good stamina." Simon explained.

"Okay." Eleanor replied.

"The best way to train for the shorter distance sprint events is to work on strengthening fast-twitch muscles." Simon continued. "These are parts of the muscle fibre that have lots of quick release power. The best way to train these muscles is to do some Plyometric training, which is pre-stretching muscles before…"

Eleanor looked utterly confused by this point; Theodore was also looking slightly lost and didn't understand half of what Simon had just explained.

"What does that mean?" Theodore asked willingly.

Simon slapped his hand against his forehead in disbelief, but then realised that what he had just explained was pretty complex.

"Never mind, never mind." Simon said. "The important thing is that you do the training."

"Okay Simon." Eleanor replied.

"Right, the main exercises are squats, jumping squats, hopping and bounding. These will work on the muscle fibre and…" Simon realised that he was going into too much detail again and decided to just start the training.

He could see the confusion creeping in on their faces and decided to show them the exercise instead. Simon crouched roughly into the position of a squat and showed them which muscles should be stretched.

"Hahaha!" Alvin burst out laughing at the site of Simon's attempted squat.

"What's he doing?" Brittany asked Jeanette as they looked at Simon.

"Training Eleanor, I think." Jeanette replied.

"Nice attempt at a squat." Alvin shouted before continuing to laugh.

"Haven't you got laps to do?" Simon said angrily; immediately standing up straight and composing himself.

"Just as soon as I recover from seeing that." Alvin replied trying to control his laughter.

By now Brittany had joined in laughing as it was so contagious. Jeanette chuckled slightly before receiving an annoyed look from Simon and then composing herself.

"Come on guys." Jeanette encouraged, "It is stamina training, keep going."

"Fine, but don't blame me if I run slower, it's the laughter." Alvin replied trying to bottle up his laughter.

"We're going," Brittany replied sounding slightly annoyed, before pushing Alvin out of the gate to start the next lap of the block.

Jeanette wrote down the times that Alvin and Brittany had set, before running over to join the others.

"Way to cover my back." Simon said sarcastically.

"How was I to know that you were going to be squatting like a frog?" Jeanette answered back.

Theodore and Eleanor began to chuckle together after hearing Jeanette's comment. Simon frowned at Jeanette for a few seconds before smiling. The chuckling from Theodore and Eleanor was uplifting and he couldn't be annoyed with Jeanette; after all it was all light-hearted and she was really helping him. Seeing an opportunity to boost morale and build team spirit, Simon decided to modify the exercise slightly.

"Seeing as you came over to help, and mock me, do you mind assisting with the squat exercise?" Simon replied sounding upbeat.

"Sure." Jeanette replied enthusiastically.

The two of them stood back to back and began to lower their selves down into the squat position. They managed to get into roughly the right position but with very poor balance. To try and recover their balance problem, Jeanette linked her hands with Simon's, interlocking their fingers. Simon's knees went weak as soon as this happened, and the two of them fell to the floor, landing on their tails. The two of them immediately burst out laughing, and shortly after Theodore and Eleanor joined in.

Jeanette got up from the floor and gave Simon a hand, he was now blushing. From the embarrassment of falling down or from holding Jeanette's hands; only Simon will know. But nevertheless the training continued with a balanced mix of fun and seriousness.

Theodore partnered Eleanor in doing the exercise, it may have been hard work for the two of them but they were having fun while doing it. As soon as they had done ten repetitions of the squat exercise Eleanor was sent to sprint around the garden, which was probably 60 metres in total. Once she returned, Simon instructed her to do another exercise before running again. Meanwhile Jeanette was contending with Alvin and Brittany, whilst trying to keep them running and record their lap times, this turned out to be harder than expected. The two of them were becoming impatient but Jeanette managed to keep them going, until Dave interrupted their training.

"Dinner's ready guys." Dave announced. "Training can be paused, can't it? Besides, you look like you could do with a break."

"Okay Dave." Theodore replied happily scurrying into the house.

Eleanor was about to follow him but was stopped by Simon. Jeanette managed to stop Alvin and Brittany only by grabbing the backs of their shirts, and she was being pulled along towards the front door.

"Hold on guys." Simon said getting their attention.

"What now?" Alvin asked impatiently.

"You need to do your stretches." Simon reminded.

"But we're only going in to eat." Brittany said.

"Your muscles can still tighten up if you're sat eating. Now get stretching." Simon ordered.

There was some grumbling from Alvin and Brittany but they did their stretches and then went inside to join Dave and Theodore for dinner. Eleanor followed shortly after, leaving Simon and Jeanette to make their way inside.

"Thanks for stopping those two from running off." Simon said.

"They are a handful." Jeanette replied.

"Or two." Simon added.

Jeanette giggled at Simon's ridiculously poor joke, before deciding to tell him something.

"Simon, I didn't mean to hold your hand earlier, only I needed balance." Jeanette said, "I'm sorry I made you fall down."

"I only fell because I didn't expect you to hold my hands." Simon replied, "It wasn't your fault."

"So holding your hands made you fall down?" Jeanette asked.

"Kind of, I guess." Simon replied.

"So should I not hold your hands?" Jeanette questioned.

"No, you can." Simon said quickly grabbing Jeanette's hand. "I-I mean if you want to."

"As long as you're okay with it." Jeanette replied.

"I am." Simon replied still holding her hand in his.

"It seems like you're okay with it now." Jeanette said pointing out that he was still holding her hand.

"Come on you two, dinner's out." Dave said as he opened the front door.

Simon and Jeanette quickly let go of each other's hands and stood there looking nonchalant.

"The longer you two hold hands, the colder your dinner is going to get." Dave said before holding the door open for them.

Simon and Jeanette made their way to the table for dinner and were greeted by a predictable comment from Alvin.

"Ooo, holding hands." Alvin teased.

"So, what of it?" Simon defended.

"Very romantic." Alvin joked sarcastically.

"Do you want more laps?" Simon threatened.

"'Cause I'll make sure you do them." Jeanette added.

Alvin took this as a serious threat and decided to quit while he was ahead. He'd had his fun at his brother's expense; but Simon wasn't too bothered with his escapades.

As soon as dinner was over, the six chipmunks returned to their training in the front garden. Eleanor continued her special training, while Alvin and Brittany were designated several more laps to run around the block. This training lasted almost an hour, but by this time all three of them were beginning to flag. Simon decided that pushing them much more on the day before the event wouldn't be beneficial, and gave them a rest break.

Dave brought out some glasses of orange juice for them to drink while they recovered. This gave them time to discuss the progress of their training so far.

"How do you think you're doing?" Simon asked them.

"Well I'm bored of jogging around the same route." Alvin announced.

"Can't we at least do something else?" Brittany questioned.

"Admittedly it can be a bit tedious." Simon replied.

"Maybe they should pick their own route for a longer jog." Jeanette suggested.

"I don't see why not." Simon replied, welcoming Jeanette's idea.

"Yes." Alvin celebrated quietly.

Simon caught onto this and quickly issued a warning, knowing that they could get into all sorts of trouble.

"But don't be too long, Dave won't be happy." Simon cautioned.

"Don't worry." Alvin replied.

"That's none too reassuring." Simon said.

"I'll keep him in line," Brittany reassured.

"Is that a challenge?" Alvin commented.

"In your dreams." Brittany replied.

"How about you, Eleanor?" Jeanette asked.

"I don't feel much quicker," She replied honestly.

"We'll soon see when we collect some times." Simon reassured her.

"You'll get quicker, I know you will." Theodore said supportively.

With that they stopped their break and set about the next step of their training. It was approaching 7pm, which meant that they were running short of time; as an early night's sleep was essential. Simon set to work on Eleanor's final phase of training to see if she had quickened up. She was given the task of running a straight 100 metre sprint on the sidewalk, which would be timed by Simon and Jeanette.

The first run that they recorded was 17.8 seconds, which was quicker than they had predicted. From the previous training sessions Eleanor was predicted to run at approximately 20 seconds for the 100 metres but had beaten it by over 2 seconds. Simon saw this and decided to send her down the track a couple more times to get a more accurate measurement. The results came back roughly the same; 17.9 seconds and 17.6 seconds.

"Your times are really good." Simon said looking at the improved times.

"Really? It didn't feel that fast." Eleanor replied.

"Maybe not, but you are over two seconds quicker than before." Jeanette pointed out.

"But if you think you can go faster then try." Simon said. "We'll make this the last run so give it your all."

"You can do it Elle." Theodore encouraged.

Eleanor made her way up to the start of the 100 metre straight and readied herself. Simon set her off and Jeanette started the stopwatch, while Theodore stood watching in anticipation and willing her on. The run looked quicker than the other ones and she crossed the line at full speed, needing several metres to slow herself down. When she returned to the others they revealed her time to be 17.1 seconds; over half a second quicker.

"That was definitely quicker." Simon announced.

"Half a second quicker." Jeanette added.

"Is it quick enough to keep up with the others?" Eleanor asked curiously.

"Given a good night's sleep you'll be quicker again and probably be close." Simon encouraged.

"Close?" Alvin enquired as he arrived back from the jog with Brittany.

"Eleanor can almost run quick enough to beat the Jocks." Theodore said.

"Not Xander though, he's really quick; but that's where I come in." Alvin boasted.

"For your sake, you'd better be right." Brittany replied.

"I think we should call it a day, training has been really good today." Simon said.

Simon and Jeanette led the others back into the front garden and commenced the cool down session and stretching exercises. Once this was complete they were free to relax for the rest of the evening, what little time they had left before they would have to go to bed.

"How do you feel?" Theodore asked Eleanor.

"Good; I can do all of the stretches better and I feel more agile." She replied happily.

"It must be doing you good, because you look thinner." Theodore replied.

"Really?" Eleanor questioned, checking herself out.

"Yeah…and m-more attractive." Theodore added, shuffling his feet as he walked.

Eleanor blushed and smiled at Theodore; he smiled back looking a bit embarrassed that he'd told her. Brittany was walking behind them with the others and overheard their conversation.

"Thinner? More attractive?" Brittany questioned whispering to the others.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Simon cleverly pointed out, before looking in Jeanette's direction.

"Beauty _is_ only skin deep." Jeanette added, smiling back at Simon, "It's what's inside that counts."

The two of them looked at each other for a few seconds after the exchange of sayings.

"Oh man, too much mushy lovey-dovey stuff going on around here; I'm gone." Alvin said running off ahead and into the house.

Brittany followed him and the others made their ways inside the house as well. Soon enough Dave announced it was bedtime and with some persistence he got them all to go to bed. The sleep will do them the world of good, as the intense training they had undergone needed to be recovered from. With the next event fast approaching, the chipmunks need to be on top form to challenge the Jocks at their own game. If they are going to have any hope of salvaging the competition they will have to win the next event. That means beating the Jocks at a physical event, and it's going to take a stellar team effort to claim victory tomorrow.

* * *

**The Chipmunk team needs to be ready for the running event, it's a must win round.**

**With the team trailling 2-1 in the competition they all need to perform.**

**Once again Alvin and Ryan will be going head to head, winner takes all.**


End file.
